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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/78210-0.txt b/78210-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3c9a5d9 --- /dev/null +++ b/78210-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4581 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78210 *** +Dorcas Dene, Detective +Her adventures + +_Second Series_ + +by George R. Sims + +Table of Contents +I. THE MISSING PRINCE +II. THE MORGANATIC WIFE +III. THE HOUSE IN REGENT'S PARK +IV. THE CO-RESPONDENT +V. THE HANDKERCHIEF SACHET +VI. A BANK HOLIDAY MYSTERY +VII. A PIECE OF BROWN PAPER +VIII. PRESENTED TO THE QUEEN +IX. THE ONE WHO KNEW + +----- + +_I. THE MISSING PRINCE_ + +I was talking to Mr. Alfred Moul, the amiable manager of the Alhambra, +and complimenting him upon the new decorations of the theatre, but +he was not listening to what I said. I saw at once that he had +something on his mind, so using the privilege of an old friend I +asked him what was worrying him. + +"That," he said, pointing to the big box usually reserved for +royalty. + +"But there's nobody in it." + +"Exactly--that's why I'm worried. I received an intimation +yesterday that the box was to be reserved for his Royal Highness +Prince ---- of ----, who is in London for a few days, and it is now a +quarter to ten and his Royal Highness has not turned up. The ballet +was due to commence at 9.30, and I can't put it off any longer. You'll +excuse me, won't you--I must go and tell Jacobi to start the overture-- +I can't keep a packed house waiting for a foreign prince if he _is_ +the heir to a throne!" + +Mr. Moul left me, and a few minutes later Mr. Jacobi, all smiles, +took the place he has occupied for so many years, and, tapping on his +desk, commenced the long-overdue overture to the gorgeous ballet which +was attracting all London to the Alhambra. + +I had come to see Mr. Moul privately on a matter of business. I had +seen the ballet on the night of its production, and so I turned to go +away. As I jostled my way through the crowded promenade I felt a tug +at my coat sleeve, and looking round I recognised a detective +inspector who had assisted Dorcas Dene on one or two occasions, and +to whom I had been introduced at Oak Tree Road. + +"Mrs. Dene saw you talking to Mr. Moul just now, Mr. Saxon," he +said, "and she told me to bring you to her." + +"Mrs. Dene here," I exclaimed. + +"No--she was, but she left. She's waiting for us at the Cavour. +We are going to have some supper, and she hopes you will join us." + +A minute later I was seated at a quiet corner table with Dorcas +and Inspector Carr, and the smiling and ever courteous Philippe was +personally attending to our wants, and impressing upon the waiter who +was taking our orders that everything was to be _soigné._ + +"Now," I said to Dorcas, as soon as the menu had been settled and +the waiter had brought us the wine, "what on earth were you doing at +the Alhambra?" + +"I went to see if the Prince was going to occupy his box." + +"And he didn't. I really don't see what personal interest you can +have in the matter, which after all is not a very remarkable one. +Probably his Royal Highness has another engagement and couldn't get +away." + +Dorcas looked at the inspector, and the inspector replied for her. + +"The fact is, Mr. Saxon," he said, "Mrs. Dene and myself are trying +to fathom one of the greatest mysteries of modern times, and we've +just come to the point where we want the assistance of a linguist. +Mrs. Dene, directly she saw you at the Alhambra, said you were the +very man to help us." + +"I am very much obliged," I replied, nodding gratefully to Dorcas, +"but it is evidently a police matter by your being concerned in it, +and you have plenty of linguists on the staff at the Yard?" + +"Yes, and as a matter of fact they are, most of them, at the +present moment busily engaged in trying to solve the mystery for +themselves. But I am particularly anxious to score in this matter, +and being sure that the others are quite on the wrong scent, I went +to Mrs. Dene, for whose talents you know I have always had an intense +admiration, and told her the case and my view. She started another +theory altogether, and I was so struck by it that I abandoned mine +and took hers up. That is why we were together at the Alhambra when +we so fortunately discovered you." + +"I _am_ a bit of a linguist," I replied when the inspector had +finished, "but Greek is not one of my accomplishments, and up to +the present, all you have said is Greek to me. Tell me what the case +is in plain English." + +Dorcas laughed. "In plain English," she said, "his Royal Highness +Prince ---- of ---- left his hotel yesterday evening unaccompanied by +any member of the small suite he has with him, and he has not been +seen or heard of since." + +"A Royal Prince lost in London!" I exclaimed, dropping the piece +of grilled fowl which I had just raised on my fork. "Impossible! That +sort of thing can only happen in a new Arabian Night." + +"There is so little impossibility about it," said the inspector +gravely, "that the suite are distracted. The news has been telegraphed +to the Prince's relatives, and communications are passing hourly +between the secret police of ---- and our chiefs. There are +twenty detectives at the present moment searching London, in the +hope of discovering his Royal Highness's whereabouts. This morning, +immediately on receipt of the news, the chief of the police in the +Prince's capital, accompanied by half a dozen officers, started for +England." + +"But there has been nothing in the newspapers?" + +"No--so far the secret has been admirably kept. There are strong +political reasons why the matter should not be divulged. The Prince +is the heir to the throne, and the rumour that he had disappeared +might lead to the gravest consequences in his capital." + +"But after all," I said, "it may not be serious. The Prince is +young--if report speaks truly, he is also flighty, and fond of +adventure. He may be amusing himself." + +"No," said Dorcas, emphatically, "that story won't hold water for +a moment. Had he intended to absent himself for private amusement, he +would certainly have communicated with the distinguished officer who +is in attendance upon him. He would know that his absence would cause +alarm, and lead to police inquiries, and he would not risk that. His +Royal Highness is _unable_ to communicate the reason of his mysterious +absence, and therefore he must be either lying somewhere too ill to +make his identity known, or he must be in the power of those who +prevent him from sending a message." + +"How did he go out--in what dress?" I asked. + +"In ordinary evening dress. He speaks English fluently, and knows +London fairly well. Princes do not carry large sums of money about +with them, because they are not in the habit of paying cash. His +valet declares that he had not more than five pounds in money about +him at the most." + +"Did he say where he was going when he went out?" + +"No. It was ten o'clock. He had dined quietly in his apartments +at the hotel--our own Royal Family, you know, are all away from +London--and after dinner he said he was going for a stroll +through the streets. He did not desire to be accompanied by +anyone." + +"And no one has seen him since he left the hotel last night?" + +"No one, so far as can be ascertained. He is not sufficiently well +known to attract special attention as a prince, and in evening dress +he would pass easily as an ordinary English gentleman. But from ten +last night until the present moment all trace of him has been lost. +He has dropped completely and suddenly out of existence." + +We had finished our supper, and M. Philippe had ordered us some +coffee, and had brought us a bottle of liqueur brandy from the Emperor +Napoleon's cellar, and Dorcas had given us permission to light our +cigarettes. + +"Well," I said, after I had puffed my smoke into several rings, and +gazed thoughtfully into the centre of each, "the Prince has +disappeared, the entire detective force of London has started in hot +pursuit of him, but Mrs. Dorcas Dene and Mr. Inspector Carr are going +to find him. When?" + +"To-night, we hope," replied Dorcas, shaking her head as the +inspector offered to fill her liqueur glass. + +"That's all right; and you have done me the distinguished honour +of inviting me to join in the search because I speak one or two +foreign languages. What language do you want me to speak?" + +"None." + +I stared in astonishment. "If I am to speak none, what use will +my knowledge be to you?" + +"You can listen," replied Dorcas, "and tell us afterwards what you +have heard. It may be in French, it may be in German, it may be in +Italian." + +"I understand. But how are you going to arrange that people shall +talk in these languages before me, and on the subject in which you +are interested?" + +"That is Mr. Carr's task," said Dorcas. "He will introduce you +into certain society this evening and arrange for your safety." + +"And you really think we shall unravel the mystery of the Prince's +disappearance to-night?" + +"I hope so. But whether we shall be able to manage entirely by +ourselves depends upon how far my theory is correct. Inspector Carr +wants to bring off a big thing, you see. He wants to be able to +inform his Chief that Prince ---- of ---- is back at the hotel, and +have all the credit of having restored the heir to the throne of ---- +to his friends without the slightest reference to his disappearance +finding its way into the Press." + +"The truth is, Mr. Saxon, that my Chief has given this job to the +foreign lot at the Yard, and I can't see that they are any cleverer +than we Englishmen. I want an English detective to do this job, +because it's a very big one, and there's a lot hanging to it. I want +to show them that an English detective is quite as clever as a +foreigner, and I think, with Mrs. Dene's help, and you to do the +'lingo,' I may pull it off. At any rate, we'll have a good try. I'm +working with Dorcas Dene, and I reckon she's worth all the foreigners +in our place put together." + +"That's a very big compliment you are paying me, Mr. Carr," said +Dorcas, smiling. "However, I think my information with regard to the +Prince has been of some use to you, and if my idea _is_ correct, we +may not have such a difficult task after all. But we'd better be +going." + +The inspector wanted to pay the bill, but I insisted on making the +supper mine, and having bidden Philippe good-night, we took our +departure. + +In Leicester Square we found a four-wheeled cab waiting for us. +Directly we were in the cab the detective handed me a revolver. + +"You'd better slip that into your pocket in case of accidents," +he said, "but don't use it if you can help." + +The cab went on for a little while, and then stopped suddenly, +and looking out of the window I saw we were in Soho Square. + +The inspector asked us to get out, and we walked round the square, +we two smoking, and Dorcas between us. The square was in darkness +and quite deserted, as Soho Square generally is late at night. + +Presently we saw a female coming slowly round the square. Dorcas +took my arm and led me across the road. The detective went on into +the shadow, and the female figure stopped close by him. + +"What is it?" I said. "Does this woman know where the Prince is?" + +"No, she hasn't an idea what we are after. She is the English wife +of a foreign Anarchist who lives in London. Mr. Carr knows her. She +is devotedly attached to her husband, and at the present moment she +is bargaining for his life." + +"For his life?" + +"Yes, he is wanted by the foreign police. Carr found out two or three +days ago where to lay his hand on him. If he is taken and sent back to +Madrid, where he was concerned in an outrage, his death is a certainty. +I advised Mr. Carr to get at the wife and make terms. I wanted certain +information to act upon to-night. If she gives that information it may +be the means of our finding the Prince. For that information Mr. Carr +is promising the poor creature that her husband shall be allowed to +escape." + +"Can you promise that?" + +"Yes--our Government won't mind letting off an Anarchist if +the result is what I confidently anticipate it will be." + +"And that result----?" + +"Will be the execution of five of the most dangerous men in Europe." + +"Are they all in London, then--these five men?" + +"No, they are all in prison on the Continent. They are to be executed +the day after to-morrow at seven o'clock in the morning." + +"You mean the five Anarchists concerned in the ---- outrage. What +on earth can all this have to do with the mysterious disappearance +of Prince ---- of ---- in London?" + +"If I am wrong in _my_ theory--nothing. If I am right--everything. +But here comes the inspector, and I hope with good news." + +There was no doubt about the nature of the detective's news. His first +words settled that. "Got 'em," he said, "but we must make haste, the +meeting's at one o'clock." + +"Where?" said Dorcas. + +"Round the watchman's fire where the road's up in Kennington Lane. +Old Charley's information as to their last meeting was correct, you +see." + +"Excellent! Then now the arrangements you made this afternoon in +anticipation will have to be carried out?" + +"Yes--I told you if your idea was right I could guess the gang that +were in it. I saw old Charley the watchman, and told him I'd give him +a fiver to let me hide, but of course it wouldn't have been any good, +because I don't understand their language, but Mr. Saxon can manage +that splendidly." + +I began to realise what was expected of me, and I didn't relish +the situation. + +"It's all right," said the inspector; "the only light is old Charley's +bucket of coke and the dull red lamps on the barriers. You'll be +railed off with poles lying in a hole in the roadway and a tarpaulin +over that, and the tilted-up truck that he makes his shelter with +will be in front of you--and I shall be there with you, so there's +not the slightest occasion for alarm. If it comes to that I'll have +a couple of plain clothes men round the corner out of sight ready to +run up when I whistle, but of course I want to avoid that if possible. +All I want to do to-night is to know what these men say--not to take +any of them." + +"But are you sure you can rely on the watchman--he might betray us!" + +"Not a bit of it. He lodged in a house with one of them--that's how +they got to know him. They come and sit on a plank across two barrels +in front of the fire and talk. All he gets out of them is a sup at the +brandy bottle and some baccy. I've promised him a fiver. Come along." + +We got into the cab again, and I began to clutch my revolver. I was +half sorry I had gone to the Alhambra. I couldn't back out of the +thing now without appearing a coward. + +Dorcas, I think, guessed I was nervous, and reassured me. She had +every confidence in the inspector, who was an old hand with desperate +men, and she was sure I was quite safe with him. She strongly advised +no extra aid being had, as it would cause delay. After all, there +were three of us, for the watchman would be on the side of the police. + +When we got to within a couple of streets of the place, we got out. +Dorcas was to keep the cab, and drive to a square in the neighbourhood +and wait for us. The cab was driven by her regular man, so that she +would be all right. + +* * * * * * + +It was half-past twelve when the inspector, after a short and +hurried conversation with a night-watchman sitting in front of his +coke fire where the road was up in Kennington Lane, pointed out to us +our place of concealment. We had to get down into the cavity commenced +for the re-drainage. Fortunately it was deep enough for us to stand +upright in. The tarpaulin was not necessary. By placing a couple of +planks across with a space between we were completely hidden. The men +might have walked over our heads and never suspected our presence. + +Old Charley, by the detective's directions, shifted his truck and +his fire back so as to bring the plank on which the men would sit +quite close to our hiding-place. They would sit with their backs +towards us. Buttoning our over-coats closely to we descended into +our quarters, and were duly planked in. + +It seemed an hour before there were signs of an arrival, but the +conspirators were punctual, for as the clock was striking one they +commenced to arrive. I guessed there were four of them by the +different voices I heard. One, I gathered from the conversation, +which was entirely in French, had arrived from Manchester only a +couple of hours previously, in obedience to a telegram which had been +sent him. + +The conversation was not particularly intelligible to me at first. +The men made mysterious allusions which would have been puzzling to +me in English, but which in a foreign language were absolutely beyond +my comprehension. + +At first they muttered a good deal, the habit of caution being strong +upon them, but gradually they became animated, and secure in the +impossibility of Old Charley understanding a word they said, and the +utter loneliness of the place at that hour in the morning, they began +to talk with greater freedom and in a louder tone. + +Their conversation was principally directed to the fate of their +comrades, the five Anarchists who were lying under sentence of death, +and whose execution was a matter now of some thirty hours. + +"We will save them," said the man who seemed to be the ruling spirit; +"our brave comrades shall not die--we may even compel the Government +to set them secretly at liberty." + +The man from Manchester, who was evidently considerably in the dark +as yet, said he was glad to hear it, but what did they propose to +do--threaten to blow up London or Paris, or what? + +"No," replied the leader, "threats are of no avail. We have tried +all that, and the only result is that the friends of Anarchy are +everywhere driven out by the police authorities, and many of those +who have to fly are innocent men and only with us in sympathy." + +"Then what will you do?" asked the Manchester Anarchist. "We are +a thousand miles away. What can we in London do to paralyse the arm +of a foreign government?" + +"Hold a hostage," growled the leader, and the others growled in +approval. + +"And where are you to find the hostage?" + +"We _have_ found him. That is why we have summoned you, who are one +of the Council of Determination for England." + +"Found a hostage--it must be a big one to save our comrades." + +"It is a big one. We have done a thing which will ring through the +world, and make the Governments of Europe grow pale, and tyrants +tremble on their thrones. We have at our mercy the heir to the throne +of ----." + +I gripped the detective's arm in my excitement. + +"Prince ---- at your mercy! Yes, I remember he is in London. You +will threaten to assassinate him--but that is no good. He will be +watched and guarded--the police will surround him day and night." + +"It is too late. He is already our prisoner." + +"Your prisoner! Bravo--bravissimo! But, thunder of Heaven, how +have you done that?" + +"We have done it--it is enough." + +"And where is he? If he has disappeared the police must be moving +heaven and earth to find him--if they suspect us every Anarchist +in England will be arrested." + +"They do not suspect us. The fools! they do not see our object. +They think he has gone out of his mind or slipped off with a woman. +We have heard their foreign spies talking. Ha! ha! what fools they +are!" + +"Then you have him safe where he is not likely to be found or to +escape?" + +"He will not be found. He cannot escape." + +"Good. Then what do we do next?--for the hour draws near. There is +but to-morrow between our comrades and the vengeance of the tyrants." + +"To-morrow morning I telegraph in our agreed secret language to a +comrade in France. He telegraphs from a small post-office in the +country where they do not understand English his message in English +to the Prince's father: 'If our five comrades do not receive a +remission of the death sentence by midnight, and that remission is +announced by official publication, of which our comrade in your +capital will acquaint us, you have signed the death warrant of your +son. He is in our power, and he will be assassinated at the hour +fixed for the execution of our comrades. If you attempt to betray +us or make use of this message, we may be taken, but your son will +have ceased to live. Decide!" + +"Excellent!" said the Anarchist from Manchester, "but the Prince's +father has no power over the ---- Government. They may execute our +comrades all the same." + +"No--the Prince is married to the sister of the Queen of ----. She +cannot sign the death warrant of her sister's husband." + +"And if our comrades are reprieved?" + +The Prince, if he gives us his oath to remain silent and give the +police no clue which might lead to our identification, shall have +his liberty. Are we not generous?" + +"Too generous to the tyrants! Ah, it would be good to keep this +royal scamp and hang him--I would be the hangman for nothing!" + +"Our programme is settled then," said the leader. "Now each to his +home a separate way. The police may tumble by accident on the truth, +and it is well to be cautious and keep apart. I will see to the +sending of the message at once. I will go to one of the chief offices +that are open all night. I had to wait for the Council of Four--now +we are agreed, I can act." + +We heard the men move, and bid old Charley, who little suspected +that he had been witness to a plot for the murder of the heir to a +European throne--not one of the first importance, but a throne +for all that--good night, and presently the last sound of +footsteps had died away. + +Then we crept out of our hiding-place, knowing that the darkness of +the night covered us, and I told the inspector what I had heard. + +"Great Heaven!" he exclaimed, "then Dorcas Dene was right after all. +The Prince has been kidnapped by desperate Anarchists, and his life +is at their mercy. Let us go to her at once. I am not sure, seeing +how desperate the case is, that I dare keep this to myself--I ought +to report it to my chief at once." + +We found Dorcas and told her, and the inspector explained that he +thought he ought to return to the Yard at once and report everything. + +Dorcas looked up at the great detective quietly. + +"I shouldn't do that if I were you," she said. "We should be losing +time. It will be much better for you to find the Prince yourself +and set him at liberty." + +"But how--how can we find him?" + +"It is simplicity itself," replied Dorcas, "now we know that four men +have the secret. If you do as I suggest I think we shall have his +Royal Highness sleeping a great deal more comfortably to-morrow night +than he is at present." + +Suddenly Dorcas grasped the inspector's arm. + +"Look--that man--at the corner yonder. He is watching us." + +The detective gave a quick glance. "It is the girl's husband!" he +cried. "He was one of them." + + + +_II. THE MORGANATIC WIFE_ + +The place was deserted. + +The figure of the watching Anarchist, which for a moment had stood +out clear and distinct as he came momentarily into the light of the +opposite lamp-post, was now scarcely visible. He had drawn back and +stood in the shadow of a doorway. + +"He doesn't know we've seen him," said Dorcas under her breath. +"If he knew he would have moved further away than that." + +"Yes--but he's evidently watching us for some reason," exclaimed the +Inspector. "The men separated and went in different directions--old +Charley told us so when we came out of our hiding-place. Why has +Vossche taken up his station there?" + +"The explanation probably is that his road lay this way--he noticed +a four-wheel cab stopping here and wondered what it was doing. +Anarchism is a desperate game, and the men who play it see a possible +danger in everything. He wanted to satisfy himself why the cab was +waiting, and saw you and Mr. Saxon come across. He may know you or +he may not, but he evidently means to keep here till we drive off." + +"And what can he do then?" + +"That depends. If he has recognised you as a Scotland Yard man he +will at once take means to communicate with the others and inform +them of the suspicious circumstances. But he may follow us." + +"How can he? We're riding and he's on foot." + +"The best thing for us to do is to drive off slowly. We shall find +out then if he means following us and how he is going to do it." + +Dorcas put her head out of the off-side window and said to the +driver in a low voice, "Go on slowly." + +The man gathered his reins together and let the horse go his own pace. + +In a minute or two there was a slight jar on the springs behind. + +"I thought he'd do that," said Dorcas, quietly pulling the window up +so that the sound of our voices could not be carried outside. "Now +you two, get ready. Turn the handles of the doors quietly and get +ready to spring out. You can do it safely at the pace we're going, +which is only a crawl. By the time you are out the man will be level +with you or a foot or two ahead. Before he can jump off you can seize +both his arms and secure him." + +"We shan't get anything out of him," said the detective. "He's a +desperate fellow, and would die rather than betray the cause." + +"At any rate we can prevent him giving the others the tip. A hint +to them that a Scotland Yard man had been seen in the neighbourhood +of their meeting place to-night might be fatal to our chances of +finding the Prince. Are you ready?" + +We turned the door handles noiselessly. + +"Now," said Dorcas, and the next minute we had made a jump for the +roadway. I nearly fell, but recovered myself as the astonished cabman +pulled up short. In a second the Inspector had Jean Vossche by one +arm, and before he could cry out I had him by the other. As we dragged +him from his uncomfortable perch he struggled like a madman, and we +had to use both our hands to hold him. + +Dorcas stepped quietly out of the cab, and came to our assistance. +Slipping her hand into my pocket she pulled out the revolver and +pressed the cold muzzle to the Anarchist's forehead. + +"Don't make a noise," she said, "and please don't move. I'm not +used to firearms, and it might go off." + +The man, recovering himself with an effort, gasped out in broken +English, "What I do?--I only ride behind your dam cab! Let me go!" + +"Sorry we can't oblige you, Mr. Jean Vossche. We've room for one +inside--you'll be much more comfortable there. But as it's dark, +and you're a reckless sort of beggar, I'll just slip the darbies on +you. I didn't know I should want them, but 'It's always handy to have +'em in the house,' as the song says." + +With a dexterity born of long practice, Inspector Carr slipped the +handcuffs on his prisoner, and taking the revolver from Dorcas, +politely pointed to the interior of the cab. + +"He'll kick a bit, perhaps," said the Inspector to Dorcas. "You'd +better get up by the driver. I'm going to deposit him at the nearest +police-station--there's one just round the corner." + +"Then I'll walk," said Dorcas, "and join you there. Do you know +the officer on duty?" + +"If I don't he'll know me. We can have a chat with our friend if +you want it, but he's safer within four walls." + +We assisted Mr. Jean Vossche into the cab and got in with him. +The Inspector gave the cabman the address of the nearest +police-station, and Dorcas walked on. + +Ten minutes later Inspector Carr had explained the situation to +the officer on duty at the police-station, and Mr. Jean Vossche, +still manacled, was accommodated with a chair in the Inspector's +office, into which presently Dorcas Dene was introduced. + +Her first request was that the man might be taken outside for the +present. Two constables were called in and the prisoner removed. + +"Now, Mr. Carr," said Dorcas, "you've got to decide what we are +going to do at once. So far my theory, that the disappearance of the +Prince was connected with the approaching execution of five Anarchists +in ----, has been borne out to the letter." + +"Absolutely," replied the detective. "But having found that out my +duty is to inform my chief. The whole of these men may be captured." + +"Quite so--but that won't give the Prince his freedom. As these men +were all at the meeting it is certain that they are none of them +responsible for the safe keeping of the prisoner." + +"That's true." + +"Therefore by arresting them you only make the Prince's situation +graver. You must bear in mind that he is held as an hostage. He is +to be liberated on condition the Anarchists of ---- are spared. The +wretches who have him in their power are not likely to be more +merciful to him because instead of five Anarchists being spared four +more have been arrested. You could have got Vossche at any time. The +only reason for seizing him to-night is to prevent him alarming the +others." + +"And I've given my oath to Vossche's wife that for her information +her husband shall be allowed to get off." + +"That I presume the authorities can easily arrange. There are plenty +of Anarchists and Fenians who are supposed to be at present in her +Majesty's gaols, who have been pardoned and are enjoying their +liberty--the price of their valuable information--in the colonies." + +"Yes--of course that can be arranged in Vossche's case if we save +the Prince through his wife's information. But what I want to know +now is--now that we have ascertained that you were right, and the +Prince has been captured by the foreign Anarchists in London, +where are we going to find the captive? Vossche won't tell us." + +"No. I told you if the Anarchists had the Prince we would find him +by to-morrow, and I didn't count then on getting the information +from Vossche or any of them. But Vossche may be useful in saving us +time, and every hour is of vital importance now." + +"What can he do?" + +"Guide us to the place where the Prince is concealed." + +"He won't, I tell you, I know his character." + +"He won't do it willingly, perhaps, but will you let me try an +experiment?" + +"Certainly." + +"Then go out now and search the prisoner and see if he has any +money about him." + +"And if he has, I'm to take it?" + +"No--leave it in his possession." + +The Inspector, with a puzzled look on his face, went out to obey +Dorcas's directions. I turned to her eagerly. + +"Do you really think you know where the Prince is concealed?" +I said. + +"I have a very strong idea. Now Vossche has been arrested he may +confirm it. That will assist us to concentrate all our efforts in +one direction." + +"You know a good deal about the Prince, I suppose?--or you have been +making inquiries to-day?" + +"I don't know very much, but what I do know suggests very strongly +a clue to the means by which the Prince was secured. In the first +place," said Dorcas, "when Inspector Carr brought me all the +information he possessed I saw at once that it would have been almost +impossible for rough, suspicious-looking foreigners like those +Anarchists to have seized the Prince in the public thoroughfares +--even at night. He would not have ventured alone into by-ways and +alleys where such a thing was possible. It was evident that he was +going out with a definite object, and that object was not merely to +stroll through the streets. Had it been that, he would have been +accompanied by one of his suite, or if he had gone alone he would +have kept to thoroughfares where his capture would certainly have +attracted attention. A number of ruffians seizing a gentleman in +evening dress and dragging him away would have been noticed. If he +had been hustled into a cab the police would have found the cabman +by this. Therefore the conclusion is that he went out with the +intention of going somewhere, and he did not want his suite to know +where that somewhere was." + +"You mean that, wherever he is, he was 'lured' there?" + +"Certainly--and for a Prince to be lured into a trap the lurer must +be someone with whom he had a previous acquaintance. A Prince would +not accept an invitation from a stranger to meet her or to call upon +her late at night." + +"_Her_--you think there is a petticoat in the case?" + +"I am certain there is. Now look at the facts we have to go upon. +It is only reasonable to assume that the Prince went willingly and +unsuspectingly at the invitation of a lady to call upon her late in +the evening. It is certain that he is in the power of a number of +foreign Anarchists in London. The task then is to establish a link +between a lady who could induce the Prince to come out alone at night +and the men who through her action were able to keep him a prisoner, +and make his captivity a means to secure the reprieve of the condemned +Anarchists of ----." + +"And there is such a woman?" + +"Let us see. A month ago a mysterious paragraph went the round of the +London Press. A lady had been to a theatre, and had lost in the stalls +--or thought she lost there--a magnificent diamond ornament. + +"The loss was advertised, and a description of the jewel given. A +few days later a mysterious paragraph appeared in the papers to the +effect that a well-known pawnbroker had read the advertisement, and +announced that the jewel was in his possession. He had at once +communicated with the lady, and had returned the jewel to her. + +"Next day the manager of the theatre, considering that the paragraph +was a reflection on his staff, called upon the lady, with the result +that a further mysterious paragraph went the round of the Press. It +was to the effect that the lady had been mistaken in supposing that +she lost her jewel in the theatre. It had evidently been stolen from +her while she was getting into her carriage, and the thieves had +succeeded in getting it pawned by a woman who stated that she was +lady's-maid to the owner, gave the owner's correct address, and +pawned it in the ordinary way, but in the lady's name. + +"The story interested me, and knowing the pawnbroker, I called upon +him and found that the jewel was the property of a Countess Elstein, +and he had the more readily accepted it from the lady's-maid, as it +bore an inscription which showed that it had formerly been in the +possession of a lady of the Royal house of ----, and the pawnbroker +--who, of course, had frequent dealings with the aristocracy--knew +that the Countess Elstein had been the morganatic wife of Prince +---- of ----. There was considerable scandal when the Prince married +the sister of the Queen of ----, and his connection with the Countess +was hinted at in several of the Society papers. + +"I made inquiries, and found that the Countess had been in London +for some weeks, and was living in a house in the Inner Circle, +Regent's Park, a house standing in its own grounds, which she had +taken furnished for a period from the owner, who had gone abroad for +some time, having a wife in delicate health." + +"And you really believe that it was the Countess Elstein--the +Prince's morganatic wife--who induced him to visit her last evening, +and that the invitation was a trap? What would a lady like that be +doing in an Anarchist conspiracy?" + +"Let me finish," said Dorcas. "The moment the ornament was recovered +from the pawnbroker, no further notice was taken. I ascertained from +the police that the pawnbroker had not given them any information as +to the person who pawned it. He had been compensated by the Countess, +and she had personally requested that nothing further should be done +in the matter, as to bring the case into court would necessitate the +story of the bracelet being told. She did not wish the gift of his +Royal Highness Prince ---- of ---- to his morganatic and now +discarded wife to figure in the police reports. You know that I like +to investigate these little Society mysteries--they keep my hand in, +and one never knows when the facts may be useful. I found that the +Countess undoubtedly took the jewel with her to the theatre. It was +fastened on to her arm by her maid, a Frenchwoman, and I at once +jumped to the conclusion that the Frenchwoman was in the robbery--that +she had given information of her mistress's ornament, and certain +particulars which had helped the thieves to get possession of it. For +all we know, the thief might have occupied the next stall, and +followed the Countess out in the crowd. But the Countess did not +suspect her maid, or she would have discharged her, I suppose. The +maid's name is Zelie Vossche." + +"Vossche!--why, that is the name of the Anarchist here now!" + +"Yes, Zelie Vossche, who is maid to the Prince of ----'s morganatic +wife, is sister to Jean Vossche, one of the Anarchists who hold the +Prince as hostage for the safety of the condemned Anarchists of ----." + +"That certainly establishes a link," I exclaimed, "but there is one +thing I don't see yet. I can understand you connecting the Prince's +mysterious absence from his hotel with the Countess Elstein, but why +did that suggest to you that there might be an Anarchist plot at the +bottom of the whole thing?" + +"That came about from the conversation I had with Inspector Carr +this morning. He had a theory that the Prince was engaged in some +affair of gallantry, and I at once told him that if there was a lady +in the case it was probably the Countess. Then I told him the story +of the diamond bracelet, and that I suspected the robbery had been +'put up' by the maid, Zelie Vossche. + +"He was startled at the name, and at once told me that a Jean Vossche +was one of a group of Anarchists at present in London about whom the +police were uneasy, as they appeared to be meditating some big coup. +That there was a Vossche resident in the house of the Prince's +morganatic wife, and a Vossche a dangerous Anarchist, at once caused +me to connect the Prince's disappearance with an Anarchist plot, and +I remember that the papers had reported that the Anarchists of Europe +had forwarded several threatening letters to the authorities in ---- +in connection with the approaching executions there. Then the +Inspector told me that he could, he thought, get at Vossche's wife, +and find out at least what Vossche was doing if he approached her +with an offer which would be to her husband's benefit. I determined +that we would at once follow the clue in that direction as far as we +could, and I think you will acknowledge that events have so far quite +justified my plan of action." + +"Indeed they have," I replied, "and in a most remarkable manner. +But here comes the Inspector." + +"Well," said Dorcas, turning to the detective, "what have you found +on Vossche?" + +"Nothing that will be useful to us. He has no papers at all, and he +refuses to say anything." + +"Any money?" + +"Yes, he has three sovereigns in his waistcoat and about twelve +shillings in loose silver in his pocket." + +"Where you left them, I hope?" + +"Yes--as you wished it." + +"Very well then. Can you drive?" + +"Drive? Yes, I can--but whatever do you want to know that for?" + +"Send out and get a hansom cab to the door. The police will +satisfy the man it is all right. You must put on his coat and badge, +get an old hat--there's sure to be one here that will come down +well over your forehead--turn up your coat collar, get up on the +box, and drive a little way away. There are no cabs in this +neighbourhood at this time of night, so you'll have to send to the +stand, which is a quarter of a mile away, for one. Let them bring +a hansom or four-wheeler--it doesn't matter which. Send at +once." + +The Inspector went out and instructed the officer in charge, and +presently returned and said a cab had been sent for. + +"Very well--the police must requisition it for you when it comes. They +will undertake to let the driver have his cab again to-morrow morning, +and you'll pay him liberally for taking his place on the box." + +"But what am I to drive a cab for? We've got our own man outside." + +"Yes, but Mr. Saxon and I are going to take him." + +"Then what am I to drive an empty cab for?" + +"It won't be empty, I hope. If it is you must come all the same, but +I am hoping that you will have Vossche inside." + +"Vossche?" + +"Yes--after he has escaped from here----" + +"Escaped!--Vossche!" + +"Yes--if he sees an empty hansom he is pretty certain to hail it and +jump in, in case he should be pursued." + +"Vossche is to escape and I'm to drive him away in a cab?" + +"Yes. If he gets in--and I'm pretty sure he will--it will be his +best means of eluding pursuit--he'll tell you to drive somewhere. +He will be in a desperate hurry to get to the people who have the +Prince in their care. He'll want to let them know that the police +are at work in the right direction and put them on their guard. +When he gets in if he only says 'Drive on,' you must say 'How far?' +Get his destination out of him on some excuse or other." + +"And take him to it?" + +"No--go a little way and then say your horse is lame. Turn him out +as far from a cab-stand as you possibly can, then drive on to us-- +we'll wait at the corner of the Westminster Bridge-road." + +"And then?" + +"And then we'll go on to the Inner Circle, Regent's Park, and get +into the Countess of Elstein's house." + +"We shall want help, if we're to do that." + +"You can put as many police in the front as you can get together, but +we're going to climb over the park railings and get in the back way. +Now let's arrange for Vossche to escape. Call me the chief here." + +The officer in charge of the station came in and Inspector Carr +made a clean breast of as much as he wanted to tell. The officer +hesitated at the idea of the escape. + +"Well," said the Inspector, "after all he isn't charged, is he? You +are only minding him for me, and I'll promise he won't get away. +He's going in my cab." + +The officer opened his eyes with astonishment. "This is a very +daring idea," he said. + +"Yes," said the Inspector, "but it's Dorcas Dene's, and I think it +will be the means of our making sure of the whereabouts of the Prince." + +"Very well," said the officer. "Of course you take all responsibility +--the case is yours, not mine. How is the escape to be arranged?" + +The Inspector looked at Dorcas. + +"After we have gone," she said, "and Mr. Carr has got possession of +the cab and put on the driver's coat and badge, have the prisoner +brought in as though you were going to examine him. Remove his +handcuffs previously in the cell. A constable will guard him and +one will stand in the doorway. + +"Suddenly you can pretend to fall ill, stagger and fall into the +constable's arms who is by the prisoner. Probably the man at the +door will rush to your assistance. Vossche is certain to see his +chance and make a desperate effort to bolt. He will be strong enough +to overpower the constable even if he has not left the door to run +to your assistance. You must clutch at the officers in your fit and +hinder them for a minute. By that time the man will be out and into +the cab which will be at hand." + +The officer hesitated. "It will be playing a comedy. I never heard +of such a proposition, and I don't think I ought to be a party to it." + +"You really must help us in this," exclaimed Dorcas, earnestly. "I am +sure if you do, and we discover the Prince, that Inspector Carr will +gladly testify to the admirable manner in which his efforts were +seconded by you. And if Prince ---- of ---- has any sense of +gratitude, he will, when he hears the story, present you with a +diamond pin. Remember this case is _not_ going into the newspapers, +and 'our Special Crime Investigator' will never have even the tip +of his little finger in the pie. The instructions from the Chief +Commissioner are that the most perfect silence is to be maintained +on the subject by all officers engaged in the search. Even the people +at the Prince's hotel have been informed by his suite that his Royal +Highness is gone into the country." + +"Very well," said the officer, after a few minutes' reflection, +"I'll do it." + +A constable came in to say that a hansom had been secured. + +Dorcas wished the officer good-night, and shook hands with him, +and we went out to our four-wheeler, leaving Inspector Carr and the +local officer together. + +When we got to Westminster Bridge-road we pulled up and waited. + +Ten minutes later we heard a hansom tearing along at a furious +rate. + +"There's no one in the cab," said Dorcas, looking into the vehicle +as it hove in sight. "Carr's got rid of him." + +At that moment the vehicle came full into the light of the +street lamp. + +Dorcas looked up at the box seat and uttered a cry of terror. + +One glance was sufficient to tell me the cause of her dismay. + +The man who was driving the hansom so furiously that the few +stragglers who were about in the street shouted out that it was a +runaway was not Inspector Carr. + +_It was Jean Vossche, the Anarchist!_ + + + +_III. THE HOUSE IN REGENT'S PARK_ + +When the hansom which should have been driven by Inspector Carr, +and should have had Jean Vossche inside, dashed past us empty and +with Jean Vossche, the Anarchist, driving furiously, Dorcas Dene +stood for a moment dumbfounded. + +"Something must have happened to Carr," I exclaimed. "Vossche +could only have got possession of the cab after a struggle." + +"No," said Dorcas, "I don't imagine there has been a struggle. +You forget Carr carried a loaded revolver and Vossche was searched +at the station. It is possible that an accident happened. Vossche +got possession of the cab and drove off because he is in a desperate +hurry to warn his accomplices that they were watched to their +meeting-place to-night." + +"And if he succeeds in warning them?" + +"The first thing they will do will be to prevent all possible +means of rescuing the Prince. And they can do that in a moment." + +"How?" + +"By killing him." + +"Why should they do that? Dead, he ceases to be a hostage, and in +sacrificing him they sacrifice the last hope of saving the lives of +the condemned men." + +"They can kill him and conceal the body so that his fate may remain +uncertain. The ---- Government are certain to reprieve the prisoners +in the hope of saving the Prince's life." + +"Then they may have killed him already--he may have been +murdered the night of his disappearance." + +"No--they would hesitate to do that, because it _might_ have been +found out, and then their last card would have been played. But now +they are desperate. They will guess that they are suspected of being +concerned in his Royal Highness's disappearance. Self-preservation +is the first law of nature, and to save their own skins they will +sacrifice even their comrades. I have made up my mind what to do. +Come--we must be going." + +"What about Carr?--are we going to leave him to his fate?" + +"We cannot help him. If he is injured he will have been found by +passers-by or the police and attended to by now." + +"Then where are we going?" + +"To Scotland Yard." + +* * * * * * + +As the cab drove rapidly towards the famous detective establishment +on the Embankment, Dorcas explained her motive for no longer acting on +her own responsibility. So long as she was with Carr she was assisting +a properly-authorised police officer to investigate a sensational +affair. But Carr being absent--probably disabled, possibly +insensible--she was no longer justified in taking any further +steps in the matter. It was her duty to communicate her knowledge to +the properly-constituted authorities. + +When Dorcas arrived at the Yard and sent her name to the chief +officer on duty, she was instantly admitted. Beckoning me to follow +her, she proceeded along a passage, and we were ushered into the +presence of a handsome, smooth-shaven gentleman with a small grey +moustache. + +This gentleman rose as we entered and greeted Dorcas with a polite +bow. Directly she said that she had called to give information with +respect to the missing Prince, his official manner vanished and he +leant forward to listen. + +"My chief is with the Home Secretary at this very minute," he said. +"Up to the present we have not the slightest clue. What is your +information?" + +Dorcas related rapidly the events of the evening, and, as she +proceeded, the pleasant face of the official became grave and +anxious. + +"We knew of these men, of course," he said, "but we never for a +moment connected his Royal Highness's disappearance with them. Their +arrest ought to be a mere matter of hours, for we know where to lay +hands on every Anarchist in England. But their arrest would only +retard rather than hasten the rescue of their prisoner. We don't +know where they have concealed him." + +"At any rate there is someone who does." + +"Who is that?" + +"The Countess Elstein. I am convinced that it was to the Countess's +that the Prince went that night." + +"We had an idea ourselves that the Countess must know something," +replied the officer, "but on inquiring at her residence we were +informed that she had left London for the Continent the previous day. +The maid, a French-woman, was to follow her, so she told our man, and +join her mistress in Vienna in a week's time." + +"Didn't you think it curious then," said Dorcas, "that the Countess +should have gone abroad and left her maid behind?" + +"There was really nothing to think about in the matter. All that we +expected of the Countess was that she _might_ know something of +the Prince's movements, but she certainly would be no party to any +evil befalling him or any scandal arising in connection with him and +herself. She receives a handsome allowance from the Prince, and she is +hardly likely to have done anything which would imperil that." + +"Well," said Dorcas, "you may be right, but the name of the Countess's +maid is Zelie Vossche. She may have communicated to her brother that +the Prince was coming. If I am right in my theory, the capture was +effected in the Countess's house." + +"It might have been outside." + +"Hardly; had it been outside your men must by this time have found +a clue. His captors wouldn't have dragged him from Regent's Park +without being observed by someone." + +"But if it was in the house the capture took place the servants +must have known it." + +"I don't think so. The Prince's visit would be arranged for under +any circumstances--the servants would be purposely kept out of +the way. Zelie, the maid, who is evidently in her mistress's +confidence, probably for a good reason, seeing that that affair of +the bracelet was not proceeded with--would let him in." + +"But the Countess----" + +"There I am in doubt," said Dorcas. "She may have been a party to +the outrage--she may have known nothing about it. But I am +convinced that the Prince entered that house and never left it." + +"But, good heavens! if that has been your idea, why did you not +communicate with us at once?" + +"You forget," said Dorcas, quietly, "it was not until after the +Anarchist meeting in Kennington Road to-night that I had any +certainty that my theory was correct." + +The official touched a bell and a constable entered. + +"Ask Superintendent Johnson to come to me at once." + +The constable saluted and retired. + +"What do you propose to do?" said Dorcas. + +"Send Superintendent Johnson with a number of men at once to the +Countess's residence." + +Dorcas laid her hand gently on his arm. + +"Of course it is presumption on my part, but may I give you a +word of advice?" + +"I shall listen to anything you say with the greatest respect, +because it seems to me that so far you have done more than all our +people put together in getting on the right trail--though of course +I feel strongly that you ought to have communicated with us before +this. What is your advice?" + +"That you don't send Superintendent Johnson and his men to _alarm_ +the Countess. Remember that one false movement may result in the +assassination of the Prince." + +"That is true--but we _must_ satisfy ourselves that the Prince is +or is not there." + +"Of course. My own intention, had Inspector Carr remained with +me, was to go to the Countess's house at once. But we should have +gone cautiously to work to avoid a mishap." + +"One can be too cautious in a desperate affair like this. Even as +it is, this man Vossche has had time to communicate with the Prince's +captors. If his Royal Highness is a prisoner in the Regent's Park +house, he may already have been conveyed away." + +"If he has I shall know it!" + +"_You_ will know it--how?" + +"Directly I heard from Inspector Carr of the Prince's disappearance, +and came to the conclusion that the Countess Elstein might have been +the instrument employed to get him into a trap, I put two of my +assistants whom I can trust--they are both retired police officers-- +on the case. One has been watching the entrance in the Inner Circle, +and the other is concealed in the Park watching the grounds." + +"That was well done at any rate. But now we must get inside the house." + +"I quite agree with you. But there are two ways of doing it. Will +you let the Superintendent and his men go to work _my_ way?" + +The officer hesitated. "It isn't usual," he said, "for our men to +act under the orders of a private detective, even one so famous and +so talented as Dorcas Dene, but under _all_ the circumstances I +consent. Up to a certain point Johnson will obey your instructions. +But if he finds that they do not look like resulting in immediate +success, then he will obey mine." + +"I accept the terms," replied Dorcas, rising. Then she added, "I +presume there is no objection to my friend here accompanying us. He +is my husband's personal friend and my own, and has frequently +rendered me valuable assistance." + +The official eyed me over as if mentally appraising my value, and +then with a patronising little nod exclaimed, "Oh, certainly if you +wish it--but I presume he is not a newspaper man? Whatever happens +we don't want this affair to be chattered about by the Press." + +I assured the official that he might rely on my absolute discretion, +and that I quite understood the necessity of silence, and a minute +later Superintendent Johnson entered the room. + +* * * * * * + +Jean Vossche _had_ entered the house of Countess Elstein in the +Inner Circle of Regent's Park. + +Dorcas's man had seen a man answering Vossche's description come up +and enter the grounds about half an hour previously. He was walking. + +The cab left alone would have attracted attention. Vossche had driven +on to the cab-stand at Clarence Gate, which at that hour of the +morning was only occupied by a couple of four-wheelers, the drivers +of which were inside fast asleep. A hansom standing by itself on the +rank would not excite the slightest suspicion. + +Dorcas, when she heard how the desperado had disposed of his vehicle, +murmured, "My compliments!--that man knows what he is about!" + +Superintendent Johnson proved himself to be a tactician of the first +water. He readily fell in with Dorcas's suggestions, but managed to +add one or two of his own which Dorcas, not to be outdone in +amiability, readily acquiesced in. She did so the more willingly as +the Superintendent's suggestions were generally those which Dorcas +had made a minute or two earlier. Dorcas explained her idea rapidly. + +"The Inner Circle is deserted, and my men can get over the gate," said +the Superintendent, "and in among the laurels ready for a signal." + +"I am afraid of that," said Dorcas. "There is gravel in the front +garden, and a gravel scrunch might be heard. Remember, Vossche is +inside, and the front may be watched. My proposition is that we get +in at the back." + +The Superintendent said nothing for a moment. Then suddenly as if +struck by an idea he exclaimed, "I propose that we get in at the +back. Don't you think it will be safer? They won't expect anybody +that way because the back runs down to the ornamental waters and the +Park is closed." + +"An excellent idea," replied Dorcas, nudging my arm. "Leave a few +of your men under the trees on the opposite side of the roadway-- +ready to dash in at your signal." + +"Yes, when I blow my whistle they can rush in at the front garden." + +"I shouldn't whistle," said Dorcas. "We might want to surprise the +inmates before they can escape. It's a dark night and they might some +of them get away. I should imitate the noise of a cat. That would mean +nothing except to those who were waiting for the sound." + +The Superintendent probably thought that for a man in his position +it would be undignified to moe-row, for he made no reply. But a minute +later he said to Dorcas, "I've given my men their instructions. My +signal to them will be the bark of a dog--I think it will be +safer than whistling, don't you?" + +"An admirable idea!" replied Dorcas. "Now let us go round to the +Outer Circle. We can get into the Park by climbing over the rails." + +"But to get into the grounds we must cross the water." + +"No--we can get over the bridge and climb over the iron rails on +the other side." + +Dorcas, myself, the Superintendent, and two men made our way rapidly +over the bridge opposite the Botanical Gardens and then climbed over +into the private enclosure by York Gate and so went into the vast +deserted Park. + +Crossing the bridge that spans the ornamental water we made our +way along the water's edge until we reached the private grounds of +the villa occupied by the Countess. The grounds sloped to the edge +of the water and were not in any way protected, as they could only +be approached from the lake. No one could enter them by day without +attracting the attention of the park-keepers, and at night the Park +was carefully cleared, so there was practically no danger of +intrusion. + +As we crept cautiously through the high laurels, choosing a path +that was out of sight of the house in case there should be anyone +watching, Dorcas suddenly halted and "quacked." There were scores of +ducks asleep upon the island on the lake. But she quacked in a +peculiar manner--two quacks, then one quack--then two, then one. + +Across the grounds from a laurel bush near a summer house came a low +"quack, quack." + +"What's that?" exclaimed the Superintendent. + +"My signal. My man is over yonder--he'll make his way to us--let +us stop here." + +Our strained ears caught the rustle of the bushes, and presently +a man emerged from the laurels in front of us and came to Dorcas. + +"No one's been about all night," he said, "till about a quarter of +an hour ago, when a man came out, went to the shed yonder by the +water, and got a boat hook. He went to the water's edge, and tried +the depth, and then went back into the house again." + +Dorcas gave a little cry which she instantly suppressed. + +"What do you think that means?" said the Superintendent. + +"The worst, I'm afraid," said Dorcas. "It looks as though they were +going to drop something into the water that they wanted to conceal. +We must hesitate no longer. Your men must break in from the front, +and we must try from the back. Hush!" + +There was a sound of a door opening. + +We peered through the laurel bushes, and saw two figures coming +slowly across the grounds. They were carrying a heavy burden between +them. + +"Make a dash for the door," said the Superintendent to Dorcas's man. +"Rush through and open the front door if you can, and let my men in. +Are you armed?" + +"I have my revolver," replied the man. + +As the figures came nearer our man dashed out. There was a cry, and +the burden dropped. But our man had dashed in at the open door. At +the same time Superintendent Johnson's whistle shrieked out on the +quiet night. + +Then we all dashed forward--the Superintendent and one of his men +seized one of the figures, and I and another man seized the other. + +Dorcas snatched a bull's-eye from one of the officers, and flashed +it in the faces of the prisoners. + +We had captured Jean Vossche and his sister, the lady's maid. + +In a moment there were dark figures hurrying across the lawn. The +police in front had come through. Handing the prisoners over to them, +the Superintendent knelt down, and then examined the lifeless body +lying on the ground. + +It was a female. Round her body was a stout cord, and attached to +the cord two heavy weights. + +The Superintendent examined the woman's face by the light of the +lantern. On the temple was a fearful bruise, as though the poor +creature had been struck by a bludgeon. + +Dorcas, with trembling lips, knelt down beside the body, and as +the light fell on the features, examined them carefully. + +"It is the Countess Elstein!" she said. + +At that moment the officers who had Jean Vossche uttered a cry. + +The man, with a desperate effort, had wrenched himself free. Before +he could be seized again he had dashed across the grounds, leapt the +iron railings, and disappeared into the darkness of the Park. + +* * * * * * + +Leaving the police in charge of Zelie and the body, we went into +the house, which was in possession of some of the Superintendent's +men. A sergeant met us at the door. + +"There's a gentleman in one of the rooms," he said. "I can't make +him out at all." + +We followed the officer upstairs to a back room. There we found a +dark gentleman lying on a sofa. His legs and hands were fastened +together with cords, and he seemed to be in a heavy sleep. We tried +to rouse him, but he only opened his eyes and looked at us, and then +his head dropped down again. + +"It's the Prince--thank God!" exclaimed the Superintendent. "He's +under the influence of some drug, I should think." + +"Probably," said Dorcas, "that's how they've kept him quiet. Send one +of your men for a doctor." + +We tried our best to restore the Prince to consciousness, but failed. +When the doctor, who had been fetched from Baker-street, came, he at +once found it to be a case of drugging, and said the Prince had +probably been kept under the influence of a strong narcotic for some +time. He had brought certain remedies with him, acting on the +information the police officer who fetched him had given him, and +gradually the Prince came to himself. A couple of hours later a +brougham arrived with the Chief of Police and the Prince's +aide-de-camp, and his Royal Highness was quietly taken to the +doctor's house, and Zelie Vossche, who remained obstinately silent, +was removed in custody. + +* * * * * * + +His Royal Highness Prince ---- of ---- was able next day to +communicate his adventures to the authorities. + +He had arranged to visit the Countess, his morganatic wife, the +evening he left the hotel. There were certain matters he wished to +discuss with her, but he was anxious that their meeting should be a +private one. Zelie Vossche had probably obtained knowledge of the +intended interview, and had communicated it to her brother, who saw +in it an opportunity of assisting the condemned Anarchists of ----. +He communicated with his associates. + +When the Prince arrived at the house in Regent's Park late at night +the servants had been sent away to a house the Countess had in the +country. The Countess was leaving for this house next day, and Zelie +advised her to send them on first: then they would not see and gossip +about the visit of the Prince, as they might find out who he was. + +Zelie and the Countess were alone when the Prince arrived. But after +Zelie had let him in she admitted Vossche and two of his accomplices. +They waited till the Prince was leaving, then seized and gagged him +and carried him to the upstairs room. The Countess rushed out, +hearing the noise, but was struck down by Vossche. When it was found +she was dead they carried the body to a bedroom, laid it on the bed, +and locked the door. + +The next morning Zelie telegraphed to the servants that their +mistress was going to pay a visit and would not arrive till the end +of the week. + +The Prince in the meantime was drugged to keep him from attempting +to make a noise. He was fed and tended by Vossche and Zelie, as it +was not the Anarchists' intention that he should be assassinated if +they saved the lives of their comrades. + +But when Vossche discovered that a Scotland Yard man was on his +track and that probably he would be traced to the house in Regent's +Park, his first task on escaping was to get rid of the Countess's +body. What the Prince's fate would have been could only be +conjectured. + +Vossche and Zelie after disposing of the Countess's body would +probably have made their escape, hoping that a desire to conceal the +adventure of the Prince might lead the police to make no active +search for them. + +The story of the murder was gathered from Zelie herself, who was +naturally anxious to prove that she had no active share in the +crime, but only acted to shield her brother and his accomplices +afterwards. + +Accepting her story as true the authorities at the inquest put +her name forward as that of an accomplice, and supported her +statement that Vossche was the actual murderer. + +They did this not only because they were inclined to believe it, +but as an encouragement to Zelie not to make any statement with +regard to the share which the Prince had played in the tragedy. The +motive of the crime was supposed to be robbery. + +A reward for the arrest of Jean Vossche was offered but never claimed. +The Continental Police acting on instructions were as remiss as our +own in endeavouring to discover the whereabouts of the notorious +Anarchist. + +As soon as he was restored to health the Prince returned to his +father's court, much to the relief of everybody concerned, especially +the heads of the Royal Family of ----, who were saved the unpleasant +task of rescuing from the scaffold five of the most infamous +scoundrels of modern times. + +Inspector Carr is a disappointed man. After all his exertions he +was unable to crown himself with the glory of having found and rescued +the missing Prince. Had he been a better coachman all might have been +well, but in his joy at having Jean Vossche for a fare he forgot about +his horse and drove into a market wagon, the driver of which was fast +asleep. He was pitched off the box into the roadway and lay there +stunned. Jean Vossche, anxious to get on, leaped out and bent over the +insensible man. Possibly he discovered then the trick which had been +played on him. At any rate, jumping on to the box, he drove off at +full speed. When the Inspector came to himself he found that he had +been very kindly taken to St. Thomas's Hospital by a policeman who +thought he was a cabman whose horse had bolted. + +* * * * * * + +Dorcas Dene has a beautiful diamond brooch which she never wears. +It is the gift of his Royal Highness Prince ---- of ---- who somehow +came to hear of the important part she had played in his rescue. + +The one great drawback to her joy in possessing it is that poor Paul +cannot see how beautiful it is. But sometimes when she holds it in +the light he stares at it with his poor sightless eyes and declares +that really the stones must be _very_ brilliant, for it doesn't +seem _quite_ so dark when she holds them up before him. + + + +_IV. THE CO-RESPONDENT_ + +I had gone down for a week's rest to Brighton, and had put up at +the "Old Ship." The "Old Ship," Brighton, has been to me "a home from +home" for more years than I care to count. Among my most pleasant +recollections of my youth is the smiling face of that fine old +English host, "Mr. Arthur," brother of the proprietor, Mr. Robert +Bacon. All Brighton lovers who "have come to forty year" remember +Mr. Arthur, and still on quiet evenings when old Brightonians gather +together in the famous hostelry it is rare indeed that the name of +Mr. Arthur does not come up in the conversation. What Mr. Gresham +Bacon is to the young Old Shipites to-day, Mr. Arthur was to the +middle-aged Old Shipites of twenty years ago. + +Mr. Arthur's name came up on the occasion of the visit to which +I have referred at the commencement of this narrative. There had +been an unusual number of ladies in the coffee-room, and after +dinner, noticing Mr. Gresham Bacon in the hall, I could not help +remarking on the fact. + +In the former days the "Old Ship" rather discouraged lady visitors, +and so they were not admitted to the coffee-room, and there was no +ladies' drawing-room. The house was essentially a bachelors' resort, +and if a man brought his wife he had to take a private sitting-room +for her and to keep her there. + +"Ladies in the coffee-room, a French table d'hôte and the electric +light at the 'Old Ship'!" I exclaimed. "It's enough to make +'Mr. Arthur' turn in his grave." + +Gresham Bacon laughed. + +"Yes," he said, "if anyone had suggested ladies in the coffee-room +in his day the dear old boy would have had a fit. But other times, +other manners, and the 'Old Ship' has had to be fitted out as a modern +vessel, and she must sail with the times." + +I put on my hat, Commodore Gibson, arrayed as befitted in the "Old +Ship" in blue serge, gilt buttons, and a yachting cap, gave me a brush +down, and as soon as Mr. "Fatty" Coleman, whose portly form completely +filled the doorway, had been temporarily dislodged, I passed out into +the street, and Gresham Bacon, who had followed me, invited me to come +and have my after-dinner coffee at his "arch." + +Everyone knows that the "arches" under the King's-road at Brighton +have been rented by private persons, and turned into luxurious +"smoking-rooms by the sea." Mr. Gresham Bacon's arch is renowned for +its hospitality, and one meets there in the season most of the +notabilities of Upper Bohemia, who still look upon Brighton as the +ideal spot for a jaded Londoner. Dr. Brighton is no quack, but he has +the courage to adopt as his motto, "Health restored while you wait," +and thousands of hard-working Englishmen and Englishwomen who suffer +from an occasional run-down of the nervous system have still a +child-like and beautiful faith in him. There is only one disadvantage +in the Brighton cure, if you are in search of quiet as well as health. +At Brighton you meet people you know all day long, and everybody wants +you to dine with him, or to drink with him, or to "go somewhere." A +man can have hundreds of friends and be as little disturbed by them +in London as if he were on a desert island. But in Brighton you meet +someone you know every minute of the day. + +I had not been half an hour in Gresham Bacon's arch before half a +dozen London men had dropped in whom I knew intimately, but whom I +rarely met at home because we were all Londoners. + +One of them, a dramatist of repute, had with him the only stranger +of the party. The stranger was introduced to us as Count von Phalsdorf, +and as soon as the name had been pronounced the dramatist, with the +instinct of his art strong upon him, looked round to see what sort +of an effect he had made. + +It was certainly a big one. As the dramatist slowly and distinctly +pronounced the name every man in the arch gave a little gasp, and the +eyes of the dramatist gleamed with a feverish delight. + +"I met the Count at my hotel," he said with a smile, "we became +friendly; he has heard a good deal of the Brighton arches, and I took +the liberty of bringing him with me to-night to show him yours, +Gresham." + +"Delighted, I'm sure," said Mr. Bacon, feeling that as the host he +must say something, but there was a hesitancy in his speech which +we all understood. + +The Count was a handsome man--in his uniform he must have looked a +perfectly military Adonis. In ordinary evening dress he was far and +away the most distinguished-looking person in our little assembly. +He spoke English fluently, and his manners were perfect. But--well, +it was a very big "but" indeed. + +The Law Courts had just given us one of those sensational scandals +in high life which are the delight of the evening newspapers and a +godsend to the gentlemen who make out the newspaper contents bills, +and to the headline merchants generally. + +An English gentleman bearing a name which has been an honourable +one in English history since the days of the Conquest had brought an +action for divorce against his wife, a lady of lineage equal to his +own, and had obtained a decree nisi. The lady had up to the time of +the proceedings been considered beyond reproach. When her husband +separated from her under circumstances which reflected upon himself, +there was universal sympathy for her. She had been everywhere +received in society as an injured lady, and it was a great shock to +all who knew her when, after some few years of separation, her +husband filed a petition for divorce, alleging unwifely conduct on +her part, and giving the name of the co-respondent. + +The case against the lady was certainly strong. The evidence of the +petitioner's witnesses could hardly leave any doubt in the minds +of the jury that the neglected wife had sought consolation and +companionship elsewhere. The husband had separated from his wife on +a question which involved no legal proceedings. It had been a mutual +agreement of incompatibility of temper, and it was generally +understood that the "temper" was all on the side of the husband. +He had left his wife and had gone to reside in the country. + +But now the roof had been lifted by the Asmodeus of the Law Courts, +and the husband was revealed as an injured man, whose honour had +been sacrificed to the wife's admiration for a handsome foreigner. + +The co-respondent was called, and--this was the most sensational +part of the story--he had naturally, after the manner of +co-respondents from the earliest days of Divorce Courts, solemnly +protested his entire innocence. And then suddenly the petitioner's +counsel had handed him a letter and exclaimed in the fierce tones +of a cross-examining Old Bailey barrister, "Now, sir, on your oath! +Did you write that letter?" And the co-respondent staring wildly in +front of him, and gazing at the respondent, who was seated with her +mother at the solicitor's table, had, with a look of mingled horror +and pity in his eyes, faltered out "Yes." + +"Then," exclaimed the counsel, "I will read it to the jury." And +he read it, and its contents left no manner of doubt in the mind of +anyone that such a letter could not have been written by an innocent +man to an innocent woman. + +While the letter was being read the grey-haired mother almost shrank +from her daughter's side, and the daughter, her face white and her +lips trembling, uttered an hysterical cry and rose hurriedly, and +leant across and spoke to her counsel. The husband's counsel had +nothing more to ask the co-respondent. He was quite satisfied with +his admission that he wrote that letter. It carried the jury's +verdict with it. + +Then the wife's counsel rose and begged permission to put his client +in the box at once, and permission was granted him. + +Every eye was fixed on the lady as, trembling and almost hysterical, +she fell rather than walked into the witness-box. + +"You have heard that letter read?" said her counsel. + +"Yes." + +"On your oath, have you ever received such a letter?" + +"Never--as God is my judge. I have learnt the contents of it for the +first time now." + +"And is there any truth in the charges that have been made +against you?" + +"Not one word." + +"Have you ever received Count von Phalsdorf under your roof?" + +"Never." + +"Have you ever spoken to him?" + +"Frequently--but as one speaks to any gentleman to whom one has been +introduced." + +"You have heard the evidence of the hotel servants at Nice, of your +own maid, of the servants at your London residence. Do you deny +their statements?" + +"Absolutely, and on my oath." + +But the oath of the respondent availed nothing against the evidence +of the other side, which was about as conclusive as it could possibly +be, and the result of the trial was a decree nisi, and the husband +to have the custody of the children, one a girl of fourteen and the +other a boy of twelve. + +And the co-respondent in this remarkable case was the Count von +Phalsdorf, and all who had read the letter had made up their mind, +without being able to say exactly why, that the Count was an infernal +scoundrel in the first place to have so cruelly compromised such an +amiable and gentle lady, and an infernal fool in the second place to +have written such a dangerous and damning love-letter to a married +woman. + +And that is the reason that, with the details of the case fresh in +our memories, we all of us felt that the dramatist had been guilty +of an exceedingly unpleasant practical joke in introducing the Count +into the little friendly circle gathered together in Mr. Gresham +Bacon's arch. + +We felt it so much that we were so decidedly uncomfortable, the +laws of hospitality preventing us telling the Count what we thought +of him, that one by one we rose and remembered an appointment and +went, and when there was nobody left but the host, the dramatist rose +too, and with a grin that was meant to be a smile, bade Gresham +Bacon good-night, and took the Count away with him. + +It was about nine o'clock when we broke up, and having nothing to +do, I went into the Brighton Alhambra and spent the evening there. +It was half-past eleven when I returned to the "Old Ship." + +The night-porter opened the door to me, and seeing that I was going +towards the smoke-room came after me. + +"I beg your pardon, sir," he said, "but the waiter on your floor +asked me to be sure and tell you when you came in that there is a +letter in your sitting room waiting for you. The gentleman in No. 6 +gave it to him to give to you." + +"Oh," I said to myself. "The usual, I suppose. It's somebody who +wants to keep me up half the night playing poker. I shall have to +make an excuse." + +I went to my room and found a letter on my table. Directly I had +seen the handwriting on the envelope I uttered an exclamation of +surprise and opened it eagerly. + +"Dear Mr. Saxon,--Paul and I are staying here. Our sitting-room is +No. 6. If you come in before twelve and have nothing better to do, +come in and see us. + +"Yours always, +Dorcas Dene. + +"Well, this is an unexpected pleasure!" I exclaimed, as I shook +hands with Paul and Dorcas. "Whatever are you doing at Brighton? +Having a few days' rest, I suppose." + +"I'm having the rest," said Paul, with a smile, "but Dorcas is +here on business." + +"On a case? Is it an interesting one?" + +"Very interesting," said Dorcas, "but a very unpleasant one in +many ways, and I'm not very confident about the result." + +"What is it? a murder--a robbery--or a mysterious +disappearance?" + +"No; this time it is a divorce." + +"A divorce! But I thought you never touched that branch of the +profession." + +"I don't as a rule, but in this case the circumstances are +peculiar, and I am deeply interested in one of the parties to +the suit." + +"The husband?" + +"No, the wife. You have read the case, I expect, because it has +been in all the papers. It is the one in which Count von Phalsdorf +was the co-respondent." + +"Good gracious!" I exclaimed; "how singular! I've met the man this +evening. He's here in Brighton." + +"Of course--that is why I am here." + +"But I don't quite understand where you can come in as a detective +now. You're rather late, are you not, seeing that the case is +practically decided, for the judge has granted a decree nisi?" + +"Exactly--and nisi means 'unless'--which is, unless before the +expiration of six months certain facts should be brought to the +knowledge of the Court--or the Queen's Proctor I suppose it would be +--which would prevent the judge making the decree absolute." + +"I don't know what the process is," I answered with a smile, +"because I have never been divorced, but after having read the +evidence in this case I can't for the life of me see what possible +chance you have of putting a different complexion on the affair." + +"Nor did I," said Dorcas, "when I was first consulted. The unhappy +lady came to me with her mother the day after the trial. Both were in +a state of the greatest excitement and distress. 'Mrs. Dene,' said +the old lady, 'my daughter is the victim of the wickedest lies that +were ever uttered in a court of justice. She is an absolutely innocent +woman. But everything is against her, and on the evidence taken I +confess myself the jury could have come to no other verdict. But they +have perjured themselves--the whole of my wicked son-in-law's +witnesses. We come to you as our last hope. We have heard how clever +you are. We have been told that if anyone can save my dear daughter +from the shame and infamy which she has no right to bear, it is you.' + +"I shook my head and explained that I never took up divorce cases-- +I didn't think that they were a woman's work, and I objected +altogether to the methods employed by the detectives and private +enquiry agents who were usually associated with the business. + +"The wife added her entreaties to her mother's. With tears in her +eyes she declared that unless her innocence could be proved she would +put an end to her existence. She could not live on under the suspicion +of guilt. She would never see her children again or look into their +innocent faces until this foul stain had been removed from her name. +'Ah, madam!' she cried, her voice choked with hysterical sobs, 'for +my children's sake I ask you to help me. Think--think of the heritage +of shame which will be handed down to them if I cannot prove that +these horrible allegations against me are only a fabric of lies built +up by the perjured witnesses in my husband's pay.' + +"I watched the lady narrowly as she spoke. There was not the slightest +doubt as to the genuineness of her emotion, and the idea of her +innocent children suffering all their lives from the branding of +their mother as an adulteress strongly appealed to my woman's heart. + +"I asked them to wait while I re-read the case. I fetched my +newspaper file and ran through the evidence, and when I had finished +I was still utterly unable to see things in a hopeful light. However, +they appealed to me so pitifully that at last I consented to take up +the wife's case professionally, and after going over every point with +her carefully, and impressing her with the necessity of telling me +absolutely everything that occurred, even if it weakened rather than +strengthened her position, I sent them away with the assurance that +I would do my best, and that they should hear from me in a fortnight. +Earlier than that I could not guarantee to have made any progress +either one way or the other. I ascertained yesterday that the +co-respondent had come to Brighton, so brought Paul with me and came +here. I am convinced that my one chance of finding a weak spot in +the enemy's armour--always supposing that there is one--will come +through Count von Phalsdorf." + +"But, my dear Dorcas," I said, "I also have read the case carefully +over, and it seems to me that even _you_ will be unable to put a +different construction upon it. You don't imagine that there is the +slightest foundation for the wife's contention, that the whole of +the husband's witnesses committed deliberate perjury?" + +"No; I believe that they gave their evidence truthfully." + +"Then that makes your task an impossible one. The evidence taken +altogether is damning. There isn't a weak link in it. Just let me +run over it with you." + +"By all means," said Dorcas. + +"Very well. There is the evidence of the meeting at Nice." + +"Undisputed by the wife!" exclaimed Dorcas. "She admits that when +at the Hôtel de France, with her mother, she was introduced to the +Count von Phalsdorf by an English lady of her acquaintance. The Count +was understood to be a young man of position, and well known in +Berlin society." + +"And is that denied?" + +"It is not denied that he _was_ all that was claimed for him three +years ago. He is undoubtedly a man of high birth, and he was at one +time in a very enviable position, but he had ceased to be that when +my client met him at Nice. As a matter of fact, I have ascertained +that he left Berlin over two years ago in disgrace. He had lost +large sums by gambling, and had engaged in a transaction to replenish +his purse when the discovery led to his banishment from Court and +from Berlin society. He left Berlin practically a ruined man. Though +his father is wealthy, he took his son's disgrace so much to heart +that he has refused to recognise him and does not allow him a +farthing." + +"Very well. We will take it that the Count is an exile, that he has +no money from his father, and that he is in bad odour generally. +That is rather an argument in favour of his behaving discreditably +than otherwise." + +"Quite so; I am not arguing; I am only telling you the Count's +exact position. That is the first thing I had to make sure of. Now +go on with the evidence." + +"Two witnesses--servants from the hotel--swear that they frequently +saw the Count in the lady's company. One declares that late one +night, after the other lady, the respondent's mother, had retired to +rest, she heard voices in the private sitting-room. Wishing to go in +to fetch a tray for one of the waiters, she knocked, and there was +sudden silence. She tried the door, found it locked, and went away. +Ten minutes afterwards she saw the Count, who occupied a room in the +same corridor, come out and go into his own room. Do you suggest that +the girl committed perjury?" + +"No; I believe she stated the thing exactly as she saw it." + +"The next witness is the lady's maid. She declares that on the +morning following the night referred to by the hotel servant she +found one of the Count's pocket-handkerchiefs, marked with his name, +in her mistress's sitting-room. She said nothing to her mistress or +to the Count, not wishing to embarrass them. She kept the +handkerchief and produced it in court." + +"Quite true." + +"Examined as to what occurred in London after her mistress's return, +the lady's maid states that the Count called frequently, but that +there was great secrecy about his visits. On several occasions she +admitted him as late as twelve o'clock at night, when the other +servants had been sent to bed. Do you believe that when she says this +she is committing perjury?" + +"On the contrary; I believe that she admitted the Count in this +manner frequently." + +"She also states that on more than one occasion she went to bed and +did not sit up to let him out." + +"I have no doubt it was so." + +"Then comes the evidence of the footman. One night, having been out +to the theatre on leave, he returned about one in the morning, and +was letting himself in at the area gate, having the key, when he +heard the front door opened quietly, and saw the Count come out. Do +you think he was committing perjury, or was mistaken?" + +"Neither; I believe that the man gave his evidence in a +straightforward manner and with evident reluctance." + +"And now the letter--the letter which was sprung upon the Count +suddenly, and I should say unexpectedly--the letter which he was +fain to admit was in his handwriting. That letter is distinctly the +letter of a successful lover to the lady of his heart. It leaves no +room for doubt. Consider the words, 'And, darling, if the worst +happens, and your husband learns our secret, remember that I have +bound myself by the most solemn vows to take you when the law has set +you free and make you my honoured wife. Have no fear, then, darling, +as to the future.' Do you believe that the Count wrote that letter?" + +"Yes; if he had denied it on oath I should have believed he wrote it. +It was proved to be unmistakably in his handwriting." + +"There is evidence of the finding of that letter. It came into the +hands of the petitioner through the private inquiry agent who had +been shadowing the wife to procure evidence for the divorce. He +called in the lady's absence from town with the card of a first-class +firm of upholsterers at the West End, and a light cart, and said the +firm had been instructed to call for the escritoire in the bedroom to +repair it--a leg had been accidentally broken. The piece of +furniture was delivered to him, and he opened the desk and took out +the papers, acting under the instructions of the lady's husband. Do +you think that story is untrue?" + +"Most likely that is where the letter was found." + +"Dorcas admits the truthfulness of nearly all the evidence," said +Paul, who had been listening quietly. "We have talked it over +together--but she has a view." + +"Your view first, dear," said Dorcas, taking her husband's hand. +"There was no light at all until _you_ saw a gleam." + +"Ah, I wasn't always blind," said Paul with a deep sigh. "I was a +man of the world as well as an artist, and I knew something of human +nature in those days. And now that I am blind and I sit and think in +the eternal darkness I see many things clearly that were dim and +vague then." + +"You have both arrived at the same conclusion?" I asked eagerly. + +"Yes," said Dorcas--"that is, very nearly--we still have one slight +difference of opinion." + +"And you both, in spite of this damning evidence, believe that this +lady whom a jury has found guilty, and whom a judge has, by his +decision, publicly condemned, is innocent?" + +"Yes," replied Dorcas in a firm voice. "In spite of all the +evidence, the bulk of which has undoubtedly been truthfully given, +in spite of the letter written by the co-respondent and found in the +wife's escritoire, we both believe that she is a pure and innocent +woman." + +"And you think you will be able to prove that?" + +Dorcas shrugged her shoulders. "That I can't say, but I am going +to try." + +At that moment the waiter knocked at the sitting-room door and +entered with a letter. + +"It was sent by the last train from town, madam--the messenger said +it was to be given to you at once." + +Dorcas broke it open and read it, then handed it to me. I took the +letter from her outstretched hand: + +"I saw my little girl this evening by arrangement in the presence +of her governess. Some time before the trial she was sent away to +school. I sent her half-a-dozen handkerchiefs as a present and put +them in an old handkerchief sachet I had had for many years. This +evening my little one said suddenly, 'Oh, mamma, when you sent me +those handkerchiefs I didn't feel in the pocket of the sachet; but +this morning I found this in it--you must have left it there.' +And she handed me in the governess's presence a portrait of Count von +Phalsdorf. On the back was written, 'To my own darling--Heinrich.' +What does it mean? Let me see you at once or I shall go mad and believe +that I really am guilty." + +"Dorcas," I said, as I put the letter down, "you are wasting your +time. This woman is trying to impose upon you. She is simply hoping +against hope that you will find a possible explanation which she can +use in self-defence, and so pose as an injured woman unjustly +condemned." + +"On the contrary," said Dorcas, "this may give me the very clue I +want to make the mystery clear and save my client. I shall go to +town the first thing to-morrow and see what else I can find in that +Handkerchief Sachet." + + + +_V. THE HANDKERCHIEF SACHET_ + +While I was at breakfast the following morning at the "Old Ship," +I inquired of my waiter if the lady and gentleman in No. 6 had left, +and was informed that they had gone to town by the nine o'clock +train. + +I asked if they were returning that evening, and the waiter said +he didn't think so, as they had taken their luggage and given up +their apartments. + +I was very anxious to know more of this mysterious divorce case, +and to ascertain how Dorcas fared in her investigations, and I was +therefore considerably disappointed to find that she was not expected +back again at Brighton. I had hoped that if anything was to be +ascertained in connection with the handsome co-respondent, Count von +Phalsdorf, I should have been permitted the privilege of assisting +Dorcas in her investigations. + +And now the venue had been presumably shifted to London, and +although possibly the Count might remain at Brighton, I was wofully +in the dark as to Dorcas's views, and had not even the chance of +doing a little amateur Sherlock Holmes business on my own account. + +After breakfast I strolled along the front as far as the Métropole, +and there, reclining peacefully in a basket-chair outside the hotel, +with a pipe in his mouth and a straw hat tilted over his eyes, I found +the dramatist who had introduced us to the Count at Gresham Bacon's +arch the previous evening. + +Being old acquaintances, we naturally dropped into conversation, and +presently I led him on to the subject that was nearest my heart. + +"I can't say much about the Count," said the dramatist. "I really +don't know much of him. I had been introduced to him at the Lyric +Club, and when I found him here and people nudging each other and +saying in a whisper who he was, I thought it would be rather a lark +to play him up a bit. That is why I brought him round to the arch +last night--deuced good-looking fellow, isn't he?" + +"Yes; there is no denying his good looks. But what is your private +opinion of him? Apart from the present scandal hasn't he the +reputation of being a bad lot?" + +"My dear fellow, I should say, from what I have heard, that +Phalsdorf is about as warm as they make 'em. I know that he ran up +scores wherever he lived when he first came to London, and that +people fought shy of him at cards, and I'm told that at one time he +was trying to borrow a bit wherever he could. But I suppose he must +have come into money, or made it up with his friends in Germany, who +are rich, for he certainly isn't hard up now. Before he went to Nice +last year and got into this pickle, he had paid up several men to +whom he owed small sums, and he seemed generally to be in good +feather. I know he's all right so far as coin goes now, for he has +the best of everything and he pays as he goes." + +"This case will cost him something, at any rate." + +"Yes, but he doesn't seem to trouble. The petitioner, you know, +didn't claim damages." + +"Is he staying here long?" + +"He tells me he thinks of being here a fortnight. Says his nerves +have given way a bit over this affair, and he wants to pull himself +together." + +The hint that the Count intended to prolong his stay at Brighton +rather raised my hopes. I thought that there was every probability +that Dorcas would return to Brighton, especially as she had led me +to believe that she attached a good deal of importance to keeping +the Count under observation. + +Two days passed and there was no sign of Dorcas. I made up my mind +that I would return to town. It was hot at Brighton, and the sea and +the sun together had begun to have their usual effect upon my liver, +and to make me irritable. The work I had brought with me to do lay on +the little writing-table in my sitting-room untouched. Every day I +saw the now notorious co-respondent on the front, either walking or +driving. If I went to the theatre, he was in the stalls; if I went to +the Brighton Alhambra, he was in a private box. The handsome Prussian +haunted me, and whenever I saw him I found myself wondering how +Dorcas Dene was getting on with her case, and what possible use a +handkerchief sachet could be against the overwhelming evidence of +the guilty love of Dorcas's unfortunate client and Count Heinrich +von Phalsdorf. + +I had packed up my things with the assistance of the boots and an +obliging chambermaid. I had given notice at the office that I +intended to leave by the one o'clock train. I had an hour to spare, +and I went out, intending to take a stroll on the pier and get as +much fresh air as possible during the limited time now left me. + +Just as I got to the pier-head I noticed Count von Phalsdorf coming +along, followed by a woman selling flowers. The woman's face was +bronzed, and she wore a white sun-bonnet. The Count was walking with +another gentleman--a man I had never seen before. + +The flower-woman was persistent. The Count turned and told her he +did not want any flowers, but she still followed him up and begged +him to buy a button-hole. She had been out all the morning, and she +hadn't sold a flower. + +She was a youngish woman, and a pretty woman. The Count, I suppose, +was too gallant a man to hold out long as she pleaded so earnestly, +and so at last he put his hand in his pocket and gave her a coin. + +"Oh, no, sir," said the young woman, "I'm not a beggar. Please take +your flower." She picked out a mounted carnation, and, putting down +her basket, drew a pin from a cushion hanging to her apron-string, +gently took hold of the lappel of the Count's coat, and fastened the +flower into his button-hole. But she was not a deft florist, for she +bungled and made quite a long job of it before the flower was +properly fixed. + +I had been watching the operation, for, as I have explained, the +Count had generally impressed himself upon me, and whenever I saw him +I always found myself staring hard at him. While the flower-woman +was fixing the button-hole a young man crossed from the opposite side +of the road and, holding out sixpence, asked for a flower. + +He had to wait till the flower-woman had finished with the Count, +and so the four people--the Count and his friend, the flower-woman +and the young man--formed a little group round the flower basket for +a minute or two. + +As soon as the Count's floral decoration was completed he moved away +with his friend. The young man who had come up as a voluntary +customer was politely attended to. + +But to my surprise I noticed that the woman and the young man were +conversing together in a low tone during the operation. + +The woman saw that I was watching her, and, turning her head, she +gave a glance which nearly caused me to tumble backwards over the +rail against which I was leaning. + +That glance was an instantaneous revelation. The flower-woman in the +sun-bonnet was Dorcas Dene! + +Before I had recovered from my astonishment the young man moved away +and Dorcas came over to me. + +"Buy a button-hole, sir?" she said. Then, without waiting for my +reply, she whispered, "I'll come to the 'Old Ship' this evening at +eight," and was gone. + +Needless to say I returned to the hotel at once and unpacked--that +is a process I can always accomplish without the aid either of the +chambermaid or the boots--and sent word to the office that I had +changed my mind and should not be leaving at present. + +Soon after eight o'clock the waiter came up to my sitting-room and +said that a lady wished to see me, and a minute later Dorcas Dene +--not, I am glad to say, attired as a hawker of flowers--was sitting +in the easy-chair and enjoying my confession of the turn which the +sudden revelation of the flower-woman's identity had given me that +morning. + +"It was a good plan as it turned out," she said, "but it bothered +me a long time before I could think how to hold the Count in the +public streets long enough for one of my witnesses to identify him." + +"The young man then was one of your witnesses?" + +"Yes," said Dorcas, "and an important one." + +"But surely it would have been easy enough for anyone to identify +the Count without all that elaborate business. He makes no mystery +of himself, and goes about continually." + +"Quite so," replied Dorcas, "but my witness had only seen him +once or twice before, and then he wore a beard and he didn't call +himself Count von Phalsdorf. I had to hold the Count to be identified, +because what my witness had to look for was a peculiar scar just +under the chin, a mark the Count, I expect, received in a duel in +his old student days." + +"I have never noticed that mark," I said. + +"No," said Dorcas, "it is only visible when the Count raises his +chin. That's why I wanted to put that nice spiky carnation into his +button-hole. When a man has a flower like that fixed you will notice +that he instinctively raises his chin and stretches his neck. I've +seen them frequently in the flower-shops. It was noticing that that +made me hit on the flower-woman idea last night in town. I came down +this morning with my witness by an early train, and travelled +third-class in my 'make-up,' basket and all." + +"And how did you get rid of it?" + +"Oh, that was easy enough. I went to a friend's house, and it didn't +take me five minutes." + +"Well, my dear Dorcas," I said, "I've no doubt you've done something +very clever, but I'm a little in the dark. You left Brighton some +days ago to upset the evidence of half a dozen witnesses in a divorce +case, with a handkerchief sachet, and here you are in Brighton going +through an elaborate performance in order to make the co-respondent +hold up his chin. I suppose the sachet told you nothing, and you've +started on entirely new lines." + +"That is just where you are wrong, my clever gentleman," replied +Dorcas, with a malicious little smile. "If it had not been for the +handkerchief sachet I should never have thought of playing the +little trick I did this morning." + +"Then, as they say in the story books, 'Let us begin at the +beginning.' You went to town to examine a handkerchief sachet, the +property of the divorced woman, which after the trial was over was +found to contain a photograph of the co-respondent, with a +compromising inscription." + +"Exactly. I called on my client immediately after my arrival in town. +I had wired her to have the sachet in her possession, and I +proceeded at once to inquire into its story. + +"She had purchased for her daughter, who was at school, six pretty +handkerchiefs. Going to her drawer one day she found the old sachet. +She thought it would be a pretty present for the girl, who had often +admired it. Taking her own handkerchiefs out she put in the six others +for the child. + +"While the drawer was open, the maid came in and asked her to look +at some dresses which she had laid out in the opposite room and say +which of them she--the maid--might have. The lady went into the +adjoining room. The maid stayed behind a moment to pick up some +hair-pins which had fallen on the floor, and then joined her mistress. + +"When her mistress returned to the room she locked the drawer she had +been examining and did not open it until the next day, when she took +out the handkerchief sachet, put it in a cardboard box, and sent it +to her daughter. + +"That was about a month before the trial came on. + +"The photograph of the Count, which only came into the lady's +possession the day she wrote me to Brighton, was found in an inner +pocket of the sachet. This is why the child did not find it in taking +out the handkerchiefs. It was quite by chance that she discovered the +pocket, and feeling in it, drew out the photograph of Phalsdorf, +which, on her first meeting with her mother, she handed to her. + +"Having ascertained the facts, and accepting the lady's denial of +any previous knowledge of the photograph, I examined the sachet +carefully. The reason I attached so much importance to this discovery +I will tell you. The thing for which a lady is most likely to send +her maid to her room is a pocket-handkerchief. 'Fetch me another +handkerchief,' is what I frequently say to my own servant. Now, no +woman of my client's position carrying on an intrigue would be likely +to place a portrait of her lover in a drawer to which she would in the +ordinary course of events frequently send her maid. To place a +portrait with an incriminating inscription in a handkerchief sachet +would be absolutely to court detection. + +"I felt that I was in possession of at least one piece of what I +suspected to be manufactured evidence. What I wanted to arrive at, if +possible, was, 'Who put that portrait in the handkerchief-sachet?'" + +"But, Dorcas," I exclaimed, interrupting, "neither the sachet nor +the portrait were ever referred to at the trial. They were not part +of the evidence you have to disprove." + +"No; but they were _intended_ to be. Remember what happened. The +lady sent the sachet to her child. That was not an anticipated event. +By an accident the manufactured evidence had been sent out of the +house. If it had not been, I have not the slightest doubt it would +have found its way into the possession of the husband's detectives, +just as the letter in the escritoire did." + +"And that letter--that damning letter----" + +"Was, I expect, placed in the escritoire by the same person who +placed the photograph in the handkerchief sachet." + +"And--and you found out who that was?" + +"I think I have." + +"But--you mustn't be cross with me for not quite following your line +of argument--the photograph was written on by Count von Phalsdorf-- +the letter was in his handwriting." + +"Undoubtedly." + +"They were both intended for the lady. How is it they failed to reach +her hands and fell into someone else's?" + +"That you will see more clearly when I have told you what I have +learnt from the sachet." + +"Go on then--I shall be very glad to know." + +"I examined the sachet carefully," continued Dorcas, "and found that, +with half a dozen handkerchiefs in it, if I slipped the photograph +in in a hurry, it slipped into the pocket. I then turned the pocket +inside out and examined the lining, which was of a light blue satin. +Just at the edge of the lining was a slight black ink smear." + +"From the photograph--_the ink was wet!_" I exclaimed. + +"No, the photograph was inscribed with a violet lead pencil--the +ink smear was from the finger of the person who thrust the photograph +into the sachet in a hurry. The lining must have rubbed the side of +the finger. Directly I noticed that I asked the lady if she remembered +what her maid was doing at the time she--the maid--asked her to step +into the next room and examine the dresses. + +"'She was making out a list of things I wanted put into my trunks--I +was going away for a few days with my mother.' + +"'What was she writing with?' + +"'A pen and ink.' + +"'Was she a good writer?' + +"'No,' replied the lady, 'a clumsy one--she generally inked the side +of her fingers. I remember when she came into the inner room telling +her not to touch the dresses--her fingers were inky.'" + +"Good gracious, Dorcas!" I exclaimed, "then if the maid was conspiring +to ruin her mistress, half the evidence that appears so damning can +be accounted for." + +"Of course it can. I am sure that the maid put that photograph into +the sachet, intending it to be found as evidence. The presumption is +that she also found an opportunity of slipping the Count's +compromising letter into the escritoire. It is certain that she gave +the escritoire up to the man who pretended to come for it from a +furniture firm. Now, see how easily the other evidence can be +accounted for, if we accept a plot in which the maid was concerned. +She lets the Count in late at night. She gives the orders, her +mistress having retired to her own apartments, to the servants to go +to bed. She arranges to let the Count in and let him out just as she +hears the footman clanging the area gate." + +"But Nice--the servant's evidence there?" + +"The servants never saw the lady with the Count in the locked +sitting-room. If the lady had gone to bed, what was easier than for +the maid to admit the Count, lock the door, chat with him in an +undertone, and then let him go out and cross the corridor to be seen +by the servants who were about? As to the handkerchief, well, he +would only have to put it on the sofa for her to find it." + +"But presuming, Dorcas, that such an infamous conspiracy as this +has been worked against the honour of an innocent woman, there must +have been another party to it--the Count himself." + +"That is what I said to myself directly the handkerchief sachet had +incriminated the maid. If the maid worked this, she must have been +_employed_ to do so--instructed what to do by someone cleverer than +herself, and the Count must have been one of her fellow-conspirators. +He must have set himself deliberately to make everything appear +conclusive of the lady's guilt." + +"One can hardly believe that of a man in the Count's position." + +"It is difficult--and I felt that my next step must be to find out +if the Count could under any circumstances have lent himself to such +an infamy. I had already, as you know, obtained certain information +concerning him before I commenced my inquiries. Inquiring in a +neighbourhood which he was known to have frequented before he +suddenly appeared in Nice, elegantly dressed, and with money at his +command, I discovered that from the house he lodged in--it is in +Soho--he had suddenly moved. He came in one evening quite jolly, +and a few minutes afterwards he sent for the landlady and said, 'I'm +going. Send my things to Victoria Station--here's what I owe you.' +He paid and went away that instant. I inquired and found that on the +evening of his sudden desire to leave, the rooms above him had been +let to a young German, an artist. All the landlady could think was +that perhaps the Count didn't like to have fellow lodgers who were +Germans. + +"The artist was still living there. I interviewed him. He had heard +of Count von Phalsdorf having lived there, but he did not know him by +sight. There could be no possible reason why the Count should move +because of him. + +"Then I asked him if he knew of anyone, a German, who might wish to +avoid him. + +"'Yes,' he said, 'there is one fellow. A year or two ago I was very +hard up, and I was living in a very poor place. Below me was a young +German fellow who said he was a gentleman and certainly talked like +one. One night we were talking over our troubles, and he said that he +was desperate. He didn't know what he should do. I said I was the +same. Then he asked me if I was particular. I said I didn't know what +he meant. Then he told me that at a cheap restaurant he had been to +he had met an Italian who had offered to introduce him to a firm of +private inquiry agents--people who got up evidence in divorce cases. +They wanted young good-looking men of gentlemanly manners and +appearance.' + +"'What for,' I said. 'To be detectives?' + +"'No,' he said, 'to compromise women. The Italian told me that a +good-looking clever fellow might make a big haul at that game.' + +"'I felt dreadfully indignant at the bare idea, and I said to him, +"Well, I'd sooner starve than lend myself to such infamy as that, +wouldn't you?" + +"'He said, "Oh, I don't know--I think if the firm made it worth my +while I'd sooner do that than starve." + +"'I was so shocked by such a brutal speech that I called him an +insulting name, and he struck me--as a matter of fact he gave me a +sound hiding, and said if we were in Germany he'd kill me. I was a +bit afraid after that, for he was a strong fellow, and the next day +I left. + +"'That's the only German I know who perhaps might feel ashamed of +himself, and not want to meet me again.' + +"'What was this German's name?' + +"'Well, he called himself Carl Hansen.' + +"'Should you know him again if you saw him?' + +"If I met him I could always identify him by one thing.' + +"'What is that?' + +"'He had a curious scar under his chin. I noticed it when he knocked +me down and stood over me that night threatening to kill me.' + +"That young artist was the man I brought down to Brighton to-day," +said Dorcas. "He, too, has changed his appearance by growing a beard, +and I don't think the Count recognised him, but he recognised the +Count _by the scar under his chin._" + +When Dorcas had finished her narrative I could scarcely speak. That +such an infamous business could be carried on in the nineteenth +century here in England seemed to me inconceivable. + +"Do you really think," I said, presently, "that Count von Phalsdorf +has been deliberately employed to enable the husband of the lady to +get a divorce?" + +"I am sure of it," said Dorcas. "The firm of inquiry agents he +employed are entirely unscrupulous. I believe that they found the +Count and bribed the lady's maid, and worked the whole thing. +Probably this handsome Adonis who left his own country in disgrace, +and was at his wits' end for money, has had a couple of thousand +pounds for his services." + +"But why should the husband be so eager for a divorce?" + +"My dear fellow--directly the decree is made absolute he intends to +marry the lady who is really the cause of his first separation from +his wife." + +* * * * * * + +The decree was never made absolute. The information that Dorcas +had been able to gather was communicated to the Queen's Proctor, and +the lady's maid was arrested on a charge of perjury. The Count, who +had scented danger, disappeared, and was fortunately for himself +nowhere to be found when the police began to make anxious inquiries +for him. The private inquiry agent, who had been the prime mover in +the infamous conspiracy, was criminally prosecuted, and was with the +lady's maid sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. + +The husband protested that he had accepted the evidence tendered +as genuine, and that all he had done was to promise a large sum to +the firm in the event of their services obtaining him a divorce. +Being a man of high position, the more merciful view of his conduct +was taken. It was agreed that he had been deceived by the people to +whom he had entrusted the inquiry, which he was led to make by the +information which they assured him they already had of his wife's +unfaithfulness. + +* * * * * * + +While everything had appeared to point to the guilt of the unhappy +lady, Dorcas Dene had triumphantly vindicated her honour, and +restored to her her good name, and the right to claim the love and +respect of her children. + +"And I think," said Paul, when we were talking the case over +afterwards over our pipes in the little garden at Oak Tree Road, +"that if I had ever had any compunction about my good little wife +turning private detective, the last vestige of it would have vanished +with the result of this case. No soldier on the field of battle, no +missionary in a heathen land, no gentlewoman at the bedside of the +sick ever did a nobler deed than my little wife when she saved the +honour of this poor lady from the wretches who had so vilely plotted +against her." + + + +_VI. A BANK HOLIDAY MYSTERY_ + +I had been away for a holiday trip to Switzerland, and had been +staying for some time at Lucerne. I like Lucerne, because there you +can have a great deal of Swiss scenery without going through any +great exertion to enjoy it. I am quite content to take everything +that I am told about the joys of Alpine climbing in good faith, +without trying the experience for myself. I am very fond of the top +of a mountain, and if there is a railway all the way up and a decent +restaurant within easy distance of the summit, nothing delights me +more than to be a mountaineer for one day only. But I object strongly +to melodramatic adventures with guides and ropes, and crevasses and +ice axes. From Lucerne you can ascend Pilatus--by rail. From the +neighbourhood of Lucerne you can make a pleasant trip up the +Righi--by rail. And when you don't want mountains you can have +quiet trips on the Lake, and come back in the evening to a big hotel, +decent cooking, the electric light, a railway station, the English +newspapers, and civilisation. + +I had spent a lazy fortnight in Lucerne, and it had done me an +immense amount of good. When I returned to town I felt inclined for +a little excitement. + +Sitting alone in my study one beautiful September afternoon a day +or two after my return, I had a sudden inspiration. "I will go and +call on the Denes," I said to myself. Dorcas told me before I went +away that they were going to Scotland for their holiday, but they +expected to be back by the end of August. + +Eight o'clock that evening found me in front of the familiar +wooden door. I rang the bell, and the servant who answered it +informed me that Mrs. Dene was out, but that Mr. Dene was in the +drawing-room with Mrs. Lester. + +Paul, who had heard my voice in the hall, stood at the open door, +"Come in, my dear fellow," he said. "Dorcas is out, but I don't think +she'll be very long. We were to expect her at nine." + +Mrs. Lester was not in a particularly good humour. Soon after I +came in she picked up her work and retired to her own apartment. + +"What's the matter with the old lady, Paul?" I said. "She doesn't +seem very amiable to-night." + +"No," replied Paul, picking up Toddlekins, the bulldog, who had put +his paws upon his master's knee as a gentle hint that he wanted to +be nursed; "Mrs. Lester is cross with Dorcas." + +"What about?" + +"Oh, it's really nothing--only Dorcas isn't very well. Our holiday +in Scotland was interrupted, and Dorcas had to return to town to +take up a case that worried her a great dal, and left her quite +knocked over; and just as she was through with it and we had made up +our minds to try a little sea trip, another case came along, and +Dorcas is now engaged on it." + +"But why should Mrs. Lester be disagreeable about that? She, I +presume, wouldn't want to go on the sea trip with you, and business +is business." + +"Yes. But this case isn't business. Dorcas has taken it up to oblige +a poor woman who cannot even afford to pay expenses out of pocket." + +"Ah, I see--that is why Mrs. Lester objects." + +"Yes; she says it is idiotic of Dorcas to ruin her health and lose +her much-needed holiday worrying about other people's affairs, when +there isn't anything to be made by it." + +"She has reason on her side. After all, her daughter's health is her +first consideration." + +"Yes; and unfortunately the old lady considers that in this instance +Dorcas is doubly foolish to work for nothing. I'll tell you the +facts, and then you'll understand my mother-in-law's attitude better." + +Paul was smoking a cigarette, so I asked his permission to light my +pipe, which he granted with a pleasant smile. I can always follow +the plot of a story better when I have a pipe in my mouth. + +"Ten days ago," said Paul, "just as we were packing to go away, +there was a ring at the bell, and the servant came in and said that +an old lady wished to see Mrs. Dene. The 'consulting room,' as we +call it, was being 'turned out,' so the old lady was shown into the +drawing-room. + +"I knew by the voice and the manner in which she introduced +herself that she was not a very promising client. She began by +apologising for the liberty she had taken, and seemed so confused +and nervous that Dorcas invited her to sit down and 'collect +herself.' + +"'You're very kind, ma'am,' said the old lady, 'but I'm taking a +liberty, I'm sure.' + +"'Never mind about the liberty,' said Dorcas. 'Sit down and tell +me why you've come to see me.' + +"The old lady, after a good deal of gasping and a few tears, +eventually became composed enough to tell her story. + +"She had read in the papers about the famous lady detective, Dorcas +Dene, and what wonderful things she had done, and, being in great +distress of mind about an only daughter who had disappeared, and +being unable to get any information through the police, she had +determined to come and bring her case before Mrs. Dene. + +"'You want me to take it up professionally,' said my wife. + +"'Well, ma'am, that's where I feel that I'm taking a liberty. I'm +only a poor woman. My daughter, who was in a West End house of +business, was my right hand. It was she who kept the home, and a good +girl she was, and the best of daughters. I am a widow, and let part +of my house in lodgings, but my daughter earned good money, and now +she's left me in such a sudden and mysterious way I don't know what +to do. I know, of course, that you are paid a great deal of money for +what you do, and you deserve it--but--you see--I--I am not in a +position----' + +"'I understand,' said my wife. 'You can't afford to pay for my +services.' + +"'No, ma'am--I'm sorry to say I can't, not at once--but for my dear +girl's sake I'll sell everything I have in the world, and if perhaps +you could make the terms easy for me, and take a little at a time +--oh, dear--oh, dear--of course it's a liberty to ask such a thing-- +but I'm nearly distracted with grief and--and you must forgive me.' + +"The old lady broke down, and there was no doubt in my mind that +her grief was genuine. I did not _see_ it, but I _heard_ it. Every +tone of her voice rang true. + +"'Well,' said my wife, soothingly, 'tell me all about your daughter +first, and we can discuss my terms afterwards.' + +"Briefly this is what the old lady had to tell: + +"Her name was Edwards. Her daughter Miriam, who was eight-and-twenty, +was a 'tryer-on' at one of the West End drapery houses. She was a +tall, graceful, lady-like young woman, and, as the old lady observed +parenthetically, 'everything looked well on her.' She put the mantles +on for ladies to see how they looked. She came home every evening. +Some six months ago Miriam Edwards had informed her mother that she +had made the acquaintance of a gentleman--a Mr. John Carlton--who +was in a good position, so she understood, in the City. She had met +him accidentally one evening in the street when she was being annoyed +by a man who was following her. He had interfered, and, seeing she +was upset, had asked and obtained the privilege of seeing her as far +as her door. The next evening she encountered him again. He explained +that he left his office at the same time every evening, and walked +home, which accounted for their meeting. He walked a little way with +her. In that way the acquaintance commenced and gradually ripened +into affection on her part, and presumably on Mr. Carlton's, for he +made her an offer of marriage, and begged that he might be introduced +to her mother. Miriam told her mother everything, and Mr. Carlton +became a constant visitor. He was most gentlemanly, seemed to have +plenty of money, made the girl one or two handsome presents, and the +marriage was arranged to take place in September. Mr. Carlton +explained that he would not allow his wife to remain in business--he +could afford to keep her. He took Miriam and her mother about to look +for a little house, and early in August he said he had taken one and +would furnish it and give up his present lodgings, move into it, and +get everything ready for his wife. At the end of July he asked Miriam +to leave her situation, and handed her twenty pounds in gold. 'This,' +he said, 'will enable you to buy certain things, and will compensate +your mother for the loss of your salary. He did the whole thing in a +very nice and gentlemanly way, and explained that Mrs. Edwards, if she +found that the lodging-house did not pay sufficiently well, could +sell off and come to live with them. + +"On the August Bank Holiday Miriam left home to meet her lover. They +were going to see the house he had taken. From that hour Mrs. Edwards +had never seen her daughter again, or heard a single word from her or +from Mr. Carlton. She had gone to a magistrate and to the police, but +nothing had been discovered, and now, as her last hope, she came to +my wife. + +"When she had finished her narrative, which was, of course, far more +disjointed than I have given it to you," said Paul, "my wife commenced +to cross-examine her. + +"'Your daughter was engaged with your consent to this Mr. Carlton. +Did they write to each other?' + +"'No,' said the lady, 'I don't think so--you see they met almost +every evening.' + +"'But sometimes he might not be able to keep the appointment. Try +and think--did he never send a message by anyone?' + +"'Yes, I remember now,' said the old lady. 'Twice when she had +missed him there was a telegram for her the next morning.' + +"'The next morning,' said my wife. 'Ah, he telegraphed and spent +sixpence when he could have written for a penny. He didn't want her +to have any of his handwriting in her possession!' + +"'You think, then,' said the old lady, nervously, 'that Mr. Carlton's +at the bottom of my poor girl's disappearance--that he never intended +to marry her, but has 'ticed her away, the villain!' + +"'I don't say _that_,' said my wife. 'I really haven't any right to +form an opinion at all as yet, but the fact that he never _wrote_ +during the whole of his courtship is a point I must bear in mind. +Now, another question. Did your daughter ever write to him?' + +"'Yes, I think so--I'm sure so--I have seen her write and go out and +post the letter.' + +"'Did you see the address?' + +"'No.' + +"'Where did he tell you he lived?' + +"'He was in lodgings, I understood; it was a house in the Hampstead +Road, I remember.' + +"'Did you ever go there?' + +"'No ma'am, I never went out with them; I had the house to look after, +and a young man doesn't want his sweetheart's mother with him.' + +"'Quite so. Did your daughter ever go to his lodgings?' + +"'Oh no, she wouldn't do that. I have young men lodgers; I shouldn't +like them to bring young women to their rooms.' + +"'Then you only think he lived in Hampstead Road because----.' + +"'Well, ma'am, I remember his saying so; and I suppose that's where +my daughter wrote to him.' + +"'You say he was something in the City. Do you remember a business +address ever being mentioned?' + +"'No ma'am; my poor girl told me he was in a very good position. He +said he was on the Stock Exchange, whatever that is. He said he was +a confidential clerk to a big firm, and his salary was £500 a year. +You see, ma'am, I thought it was a good match for my girl. He was a +man of five-and-thirty--very quiet, quite the gentleman, and he +certainly had money to spend, and treated her most handsomely.' + +"'I understand. But you've been to the police and told your story. +What have they done?' + +"'They've inquired on the Stock Exchange. There's no one known there +by the name of Mr. John Carlton.' + +"'He never wrote, and he gave a _false_ description of himself,' +said my wife. 'I don't think there is much doubt that Mr. John +Carlton is at the bottom of your daughter's mysterious disappearance. +At any rate he must know she has disappeared; otherwise he would have +called at your house and made inquiries concerning her.' + +"'I'm sure it must be that,' said the old lady; 'but why hasn't my +poor girl written to me? She was a kind and loving daughter--she must +know the state of anxiety I am in. If--if he has deceived her-- +persuaded her to live with him without being married--surely she +might have found some means to send me a line to let me know she is +alive.' + +"'Yes,' said my wife, '_that_ is the mystery I have to unravel.' + +"'You will take the case up, then?' + +"'Yes.' + +"'Ah, find my poor girl for me, ma'am; let her know that I will +forgive her everything if she will only come to me and let me see +her once again. I'll pay you when I can--I'll----' + +"'Never mind about that,' said my wife, 'you shall pay me when you +like--or not at all. I'll take the case up.' + +"'God bless you for that; God bless you for that!' + +"My wife sat silent for a moment; then she said to the old lady, +'I'll do the best I can for you, and I hope I shall be able to solve +the mystery, and at least to let you know the truth. Now go home. +Leave me your address, and to-morrow I will come to your house. I +shall want to go over everything your daughter has left behind. I +suppose she didn't take much with her?' + +"'Nothing but the clothes she stood upright in. I'm sure that when +she left the house in the morning she intended to come back again +that evening.' + +"'Then to-morrow I'll call and see if I can find anything that may +help us in her search among her things. Good-night.' + +"The old lady with a profusion of thanks bade my wife good-night. +The next day my wife went to her house, and----" + +The door had opened noiselessly--neither I nor Paul had heard +a sound. We were both startled when a familiar voice exclaimed-- + +"Good evening. Paul, dear, what are you telling Mr. Saxon about +your wife in her absence?" + +Dorcas Dene came towards me and held out her hand. Then she took +off her hat, plunged the long hat pin into it violently, and flung it +on the table, and sat down wearily in an armchair. + +"You are tired," I said. "Paul tells me you have not been very well." + +"No, I'm played out--I'm no good." + +"You are no nearer, dear?" said Paul gently. "You have found out +nothing?" + +"Yes, I've found out _something_," answered Dorcas, with a sigh, +"but it's the sort of thing that is worse than nothing." + +"Why?" + +"Because it is something I don't understand. I have found Miriam +Edwards but----" + +"You have found her? Then your task is accomplished." + +"No." + +Dorcas turned to me. "Paul has told you the story so far as he +knows it?" she asked. + +"Yes." + +"Then you will understand what I have to add to it. After poor old +Mrs. Edwards had left on the night of her visit, I made up my mind +that this was no ordinary case of abduction. The girl had not been a +consenting party, because she would in that case have found some +means of soothing her mother's fears and preventing the publicity of +a police inquiry. It looked to me like a long-planned plot, because +Mr. Carlton had been so careful not to write, and had evidently +purposely deceived the mother as to his address. + +"The next day I went to the old lady's house. It was a thoroughly +respectable place, and I was more favourably impressed with the old +lady than ever. My mother, you know, differs with me over this case. +She thinks I am giving my time to the task of finding a worthless +girl who has eloped with a man her superior in station, but from the +first I was inclined to believe that the girl was the victim of some +deep-laid scheme. + +"At the house I went over all Miriam Edwards's possessions. I +searched every drawer, I felt in all her pockets, I read every scrap +of paper with writing on it that she had left behind, and I found +absolutely nothing. I didn't expect to find that Mr. John Carlton had +given away a photograph of himself, so I was not disappointed, but I +did hope to discover something that had been his, and that would give +me a clue, however slight, to go upon. + +"I was absolutely in despair, and was bidding the old lady good-bye +in the little parlour which she kept as her own sitting-room, when I +noticed an old-fashioned blotting-book. + +"'Is that yours?' I said. + +"'Yes.' + +"'Is that the blotting-book your daughter used when she wrote a +letter?' + +"'Yes, always.' + +"'Thank you. I'll take it with me if you'll allow me.' + +"I brought the old blotting-book home. It contained only two sheets +of cheap pink blotting paper, and these had evidently been used for +years, for they were faded and blackened with ink marks. + +"However, I got a hand glass and studied the reflected pages as well +as I possibly could. In a glass, as of course you know, the writing +which is reversed on the blotting pad is reflected in its original +form. After some half-hour's close study I was rewarded by finding-- +indistinct, but still legible--the name of John Carlton. Miriam +Edwards had evidently addressed an envelope to him. It took me some +time, though, to discover the address, for that had been crossed and +recrossed with other blottings, but at last I had succeeded in making +out the number 317A. The rest was absolutely illegible, but I +remembered that the old lady had said she had heard Hampstead Road +mentioned by her daughter, and so I set out to look for +317A, Hampstead Road. + +"It was not a private house, but a stationer's shop. I went in and +asked if anyone named Carlton had ever lived there. The man behind +the counter said no, but he had some recollection of such a name-- +probably it was that of someone who had letters addressed there. + +"'Oh, you have letters addressed here?' + +"'Yes; anyone can have their letters sent here. We charge a penny +for taking care of them.' + +"It was evident to me at once that this was the address at which +Carlton had pretended to live. As a matter of fact, it was only the +address at which he received letters. + +"I described Carlton as well as I could from Mrs. Edwards's +description, and the proprietor said he remembered such a person +distinctly. He was in the habit of coming for letters, but not +frequently. The letters, so far as he remembered, were always in a +female handwriting. He didn't think he could identify the writing now +if it were shown to him. He didn't take any particular notice of the +handwriting of customers' letters. Mr. Carlton had not come for any +letters for weeks. + +"That information and a portrait of Miriam Edwards, taken just before +she disappeared, were all that I had to go upon, and you will confess +they were not much. + +"The portrait was the most valuable. I had a couple of dozen copies +made by the photographer who had the negative, and I got my assistant, +the retired police-sergeant, to take me round to the railway police +at the various stations of London, and I sent one to Brighton, +Hastings, Portsmouth, and various seaside towns, to my correspondents +there. We have always in our business a good many agents whom we use +for local information, you know. I sent one to Boulogne, and one to +Calais, and I hoped that perhaps eventually I might receive some +information, however meagre, which might put me on the direct track. + +"Fortune favoured me. Yesterday I received a telegram. A woman +corresponding exactly with the photograph had arrived at Dover, and +had inquired of one of the porters if he could tell her of quiet +respectable lodgings in the town. The porter had been struck by the +likeness to the photo which the railway police-officer had shown him, +and he at once recommended her to the constable's own house--the +constable's wife kept a lodging-house--and then informed the +constable what he had done. A telegram was at once sent to me. I went +down the first thing this morning with Mrs. Edwards. When we arrived +the 'lady' was out, but the constable's wife, who had been apprised +by her husband of our business, showed us into a sitting-room. + +"I went upstairs to the first floor, which the new lodger had +taken for a week. I examined the things in the bedroom, and had a +good professional pry into everything. In a drawer I found a watch +and a locket. I showed them to Mrs. Edwards. She recognised them at +once as having been given to Miriam by Mr. Carlton. She remembered +that she wore them the day she went away. I asked the landlady what +jewellery her lodger wore, and she said the only thing she had +noticed was a ring with two small diamonds and a sapphire in the +centre. + +"'It is my poor girl!' exclaimed the old lady, almost beside +herself with excitement. 'That was just the ring he gave her as an +engagement ring.' + +"I begged her to be calm and not to give way yet, as it was most +important we should gather as much information as possible before we +revealed ourselves. + +"While we were talking the landlady looked out of the window, and +exclaimed, 'She's coming up the street--she'll be here directly.' + +"We went out of the room and up to the second floor. + +"The landlady opened the door and let her lodger in. + +"In a few minutes she came upstairs and told us that the lady had +taken off her hat and was sitting in her room. + +"Quietly we came downstairs. I tried the handle and flung the door +open, exclaiming, 'Miss Edwards, your mother has come to see you.' + +"The woman started to her feet with a cry of surprise. +Mrs. Edwards rushed in and cried out, 'Miriam--my darling!' + +"Then she started and drew back, her face white with terror. + +"'It is her living image,' she cried; 'but it is _not my daughter!_'" + + + +_VII. A PIECE OF BROWN PAPER_ + +When Dorcas told us that Mrs. Edwards refused to accept as her +daughter Miriam the woman who was her living image, and had in her +possession the watch, the locket, and the ring which Miriam Edwards +had worn on the day she disappeared, I could not keep back an +exclamation of astonishment. + +"But, my dear Dorcas," I said, "it _must_ have been Miriam Edwards. +The mother must have made a mistake." + +"I don't know what to think," replied Dorcas. "I still believe +that it _was_ Miriam Edwards, but let me tell you what happened. + +"The lady, as soon as she had recovered from her first surprise +at our intrusion, exclaimed, 'What do you want here? What do you +mean by calling me Miriam, and what does this old lady mean by +calling me her daughter? Are you lunatics?' + +"'No,' I replied. 'If we are mistaken you must excuse us--but you +are the absolute double of a young lady of whom we are in search, +and you have in your possession jewellery which undoubtedly belonged +to her. If you are not Miriam Edwards, you must please explain how +you come to be in possession of Miriam Edwards's property.' + +"'What property do you mean?' + +"'You have a watch and a locket in your bedroom, and a ring on +your finger--that one with the diamonds and sapphire--which +were Miss Edwards's.' + +"'Indeed!' said the lady indignantly; 'so you have dared to search +my things in my absence; how otherwise could you have known that I +have the watch and locket I left in the drawer?' Then, turning to the +landlady who had followed us in, she exclaimed, 'I shall be glad of +an explanation. What do you mean by letting strangers have access to +my property in my absence?' + +"'I'm sure I beg pardon, ma'am,' said the landlady, 'but I really +believed what this lady (pointing to me) told me, that you were +Mrs. Edwards's daughter, and I--I didn't see any harm.' + +"'There is harm--a great deal of harm--and I shall leave your house +at once and take lodgings elsewhere. As to the property you claim as +Miss Edwards's,' she said, turning to me, 'it has been in my +possession for years--if necessary, I can prove it.' + +"I looked at Mrs. Edwards, who appeared very upset, and was trembling +violently. + +"'It isn't my daughter, ma'am,' she said; 'it isn't her voice--and +perhaps, after all, I may be mistaken about the jewellery.' + +"'You are,' said the lady, 'and now perhaps you will have the +goodness to leave my rooms.' + +"I could not refuse. The old lady had taken away any chance I had +of making a distinct charge by hesitating about the jewellery. So I +bowed with as much dignity as I could muster, and we went out and sat +downstairs and talked the strange affair over. + +"'Her living image, ma'am,' said Mrs. Edwards to me, 'and I don't +wonder the photograph deceived your friends here, but it's not my +daughter. A mother must know her own child.' + +"'But it _is_ the jewellery--you know it is. Why did you say you +weren't sure in her presence?' + +"'Well, ma'am, I felt frightened at what we'd done. We'd made a +mistake about her, and of course I might be mistaken about the +jewellery. There's plenty made of the same pattern, I suppose.' + +"I understood the old lady's nervousness. With people of her class +there is always a terror of doing anything illegal. But I was +convinced in my own mind that I had found Miriam Edwards--the +likeness and the three articles of jewellery could hardly be mere +coincidences. + +"We remained for some time talking downstairs, and presently the +landlady came down. + +"'She's gone, Mrs. Dene,' she said. 'She packed, and I went for a +cab, and glad I was to let her go.' + +"'You let her go without telling me! Where has she gone?' + +"'I don't know--I didn't wait to hear.' + +"'But, my good woman, I must know! I want to follow this person up. +You ought to have told me she was going so soon. I should then have +been able to ascertain where she had gone.' + +"The landlady shook her head. 'I didn't want any more trouble,' +she said. 'After all, she might have brought an action against me, +you know, for letting you overhaul her property. That kind of thing +gets about and might injure my letting if it got into the papers. I +don't want any paragraphs about my place, especially my husband being +a constable.' + +"'But you were quite right in what you did. We identified the +property as that of the missing woman of whom we are in search.' + +"'Well, Mrs. Dene, you see it's not a police search--it's only +private--and the old lady here said it _wasn't_ her daughter, and +she _might_ be mistaken about the jewellery. That didn't leave me +nor you a leg to stand on, and it gave the woman a clear case against +me if she wanted to be nasty--so I was glad to let her go quietly.' + +"What could I do? I went out and succeeded in finding the flyman +who had been called. He had driven the lady to the station and she +had caught the train to London. + +"There was nothing more to be done. I came up to town with +Mrs. Edwards, and here I am, as far off as ever." + +"But," said Paul, "you said when you began your story that you had +found Miriam Edwards. Do you really believe that the mother wouldn't +know her own daughter?" + +"I don't know what to think," replied Dorcas. "I have an idea that +the old lady _refused_ to recognise her daughter. She may have seen +something--have learnt something--from the woman's glance or manner +which caused her to deny the identity in the presence of strangers. +I can't make it out. I can't believe that the extraordinary +likeness and the three articles of jewellery were accidental." + +Dorcas rose from the sofa and paced the room. + +"It must have been Miriam Edwards!" she cried. "It must have been! +I have been fooled! But why--why should that old lady say it was +not her daughter when it was? I'm not going to let the mystery rest +there. Good night, Mr. Saxon--I don't want to talk--I want +to think. Come and see me again in a couple of days." + +"Will you be able to tell me then what the explanation of the +mystery is?" + +"Perhaps--I hope so." + +There was nothing more to be said after that peremptory dismissal, +so I shook hands and left. + +* * * * * * + +I called again in a couple of days. Dorcas was out. I saw Paul, but +he could tell me nothing. For the first time in her professional +career, his wife was not confiding in him. + +"When I ask her," he said, "how she is getting on, she only says, +'Wait--I don't know anything myself. I have an idea, but I can't +explain it. Don't ask me to talk about it. Let me think.'" + +It was quite a week later that I received a little note from Dorcas. +It was short and to the point. + +"You can come this evening." + +* * * * * * + +I found Dorcas alone in the drawing-room. Paul had gone out with +Mrs. Lester to a friend's house. + +Dorcas was pale and looked very grave. + +"You have unravelled the mystery of Miriam Edwards?" + +"Yes, I know everything now. It is a strange story." + +"And the woman in the lodgings was the old lady's daughter?" + +"No--the jewellery was Miriam Edwards's jewellery, but the woman who +was her living image and was wearing it was the wife of the man who +passed himself off as Mr. John Carlton." + +"Good heavens! Do you mean to say that the man was married to a +woman who was the exact counterpart of the woman he was courting?" + +"Yes; but let me tell you the details of this peculiar case exactly +as I arrived at them. + +"After the extraordinary result of my visit to Dover, I decided to +act entirely by myself, and to leave Mrs. Edwards under the +impression that I had abandoned the case. + +"I was suspicious of her--wrongly as I now know--but I could not get +rid of the idea that the daughter had, when she found herself in her +mother's presence, managed in some way to convey a warning to the +old lady--to impress her with the idea that there would be danger in +recognition. I thought the matter out till my head ached, but I could +see no other solution of the difficulty. + +"I made up my mind that the first thing I had to do was to find +that Dover lady who had Miriam Edwards's face and Miriam Edwards's +jewellery again. The clue to the mystery lay there, and it was no +good searching for it anywhere else. + +"I went back to Dover and interviewed the constable's wife. Now +that her lodger had gone, and she felt safe from legal proceedings, +she was eager to render me all the assistance in her power. She let +me search the rooms, which were unlet. There was nothing--not +even a scrap of paper or a thread. I turned up the carpets, I opened +cupboards and doors, I searched the grates, I looked in the chimney +ornaments--everywhere where some scrap that would mean nothing +to the ordinary observer, but which yet might serve as a clue to a +trained detective, might be lying. I found nothing but an ordinary +hairpin. + +"Then I asked the landlady if anything had been taken from the +room since her lodger left. + +"'Nothing,' she said. + +"'Now try and think. When she came in she unpacked her boxes. Did +you notice anything? Do you remember anything that could give me the +slightest indication as to the profession or habits of the woman?' + +"'Nothing. She didn't unpack much--only a few things, and those +you saw in the drawers.' + +"There was nothing on her handkerchiefs or the linen I saw, because +I looked carefully for traces of Miriam Edwards. It was all new and +unmarked. The trunks in the room were locked. + +"Suddenly the landlady gave a little start. + +"'I do remember something now; but I'm sure that won't be of any +use to you.' + +"'I don't know. What was it?' + +"'The day she came in she undid her trunk and took out one or two +things, and among them a pair of boots. The boots were wrapped up in +brown paper. She threw the piece of paper in the grate, and going +into her room to tidy up I took it away.' + +"'Was there anything written on the paper?' + +"'It was brown paper--I don't think so. It was scrobbled up.' + +"'Where is the paper? Have you got it?' + +"'Yes, it's in the kitchen with the paper put by to light fires. It +won't be used because we never use the brown paper--it smells so. +I think I can find it.' + +"She went out and presently brought me two pieces of 'scrobbled up' +brown paper. + +"'I've only brought these pieces, because that's all that there is +there.' + +"I took the pieces and unfolded them carefully. On the end of one +piece was a torn gummed label--a portion of the label which drapers +stick on parcels which are sent out for delivery. The paper had been +torn through the label. All that was on it was this: + + SHOOL + Tott + Mrs. + 1/7 + 13642 + _Paid_ + +"There was absolutely nothing on the other piece of brown paper. + +"I folded the piece with the torn label carefully and put it in +my pocket. + +"'You can't get anything from that, surely?' said the landlady. + +"'I don't know,' I said. 'At any rate the lady wrapped her boots +up in it, and it may be of more service to me than you imagine.' + +"I returned to town, and the next morning I went to Messrs. Shoolbred +and Co. of Tottenham Court Road, and asked to see one of the managers. + +"I explained my business, and showed him the torn label on the piece +of brown paper. + +"'That is our label,' he said. 'It would be gummed on a parcel sent +out for delivery. The 1/7 means the first of July. The 13642 is the +number of the order, and we shall find it in the Cash Sales Day Book +for the 1st of July, because the "Paid" means that the articles, +whatever they were, were bought and paid for at the time. If you will +take a seat I will have the books referred to.' + +"In about a quarter of an hour the manager returned with a slip of +paper. 'Here,' he said, 'is the label traced.' I took the slip of +paper and read: + +Mrs. Coombes, +17, Hansworth Road, +Notting Hill Gate. +Sold for cash. + +Then followed a small list of feminine underwear, and on the bottom +of the paper '4 p.m. delivery.' + +"I left the magnificent establishment in the Tottenham Court Road +with a beating heart. I had found out where the brown paper had come +from in which the lady who took lodgings at Dover and had Miriam +Edwards's jewellery in her possession had wrapped up her boots. + +"But the date caused me to put my considering cap on. On July 1 +Miriam Edwards was at home with her mother, and certainly would not +have been having articles sent to Notting Hill Gate in the name of +Mrs. Coombes. + +"I went straight to the address in Hansworth Road. No. 17 was a +small, double-fronted house. In the front garden was a notice-board: +'This House to Let--Keys at the Agents'--Messrs. Dever & Co.' + +"I noted the address given and went to it. I inquired what the rental +of No. 17 was, and was informed it was £100 a year. + +"'Might I inquire why the last tenant left it, and a few particulars?' + +"The clerk informed me that the house was in good sanitary repair, +had a large garden, and it was a most eligible residence. The late +tenant had left it on account of his wife's death. + +"'Let me see,' I said, 'he was a Mr. Coombes, was he not?' + +"'Yes--Mr. John Coombes.' + +"Then I entered into conversation with the clerk, who seemed quite +willing to chat, and I inquired about Mr. John Coombes. He had lived +in the house for some time, and was a gentleman of independent means. +He did nothing. His wife was a very charming woman, but her fate had +been a sad one. She had been subject to epileptic fits, and had been +drowned in her bath during a seizure. + +"'Ah,' I said, 'that is very terrible. How long ago was this?' + +"'It was on the night of last Bank Holiday.' + +"'Was there an inquest?' + +"'Oh, yes, the inquest was held on the following Thursday.' + +"'Ah,' I said, 'I'm afraid my friends who are looking for a house +wouldn't care to take one which has been the scene of such a +tragedy--I will communicate with them and let you know.' + +"I left the house-agents', my brain in a whirl. What could it mean? +On the very day that Miriam Edwards disappeared Mrs. Coombes had been +drowned in her bath. The woman, who was the living image of Miriam +Edwards, and had her jewellery in her possession, had wrapped up her +boots in a piece of brown paper which had been directed to +Mrs. Coombes. + +"I went to the British Museum and searched the newspaper files. +I found the inquest. + +"The tragedy happened on Bank Holiday. Mr. John Coombes explained +in his evidence before the coroner that the two servants had had +leave, it being Bank Holiday, to be out all day. In the evening his +wife said she would have a bath. She had complained of the heat. She +went into the bath-room. She was a long time gone, and going upstairs +and not hearing any sound he opened the bath-room door, and found her +lying with her face under water. He got her out, and called to a +neighbour from a window to go for a doctor. + +"Dr. William Ferguson deposed that he was the regular medical +attendant. He had attended Mrs. Coombes occasionally for epileptic +fits, to which she was subject. When he arrived he found her dead. +The cause of death was drowning. He had no doubt that she had a fit +in the bath. + +"After further evidence the coroner expressed himself satisfied, +and the jury found a verdict of 'Accidentally drowned owing to an +epileptic seizure while in a bath,' and expressed their sympathy +with the bereaved husband. + +"That evening I called upon Dr. William Ferguson, obtaining an +introduction to him from an eminent physician who is a personal +friend of mine. + +"He readily gave me the particulars. He had known Mrs. Coombes +for some years, but had not had to visit her often. The fits from +which she suffered were not frequent--perhaps two a year. The +Coombes were a most devoted couple. He had no doubt the cause of +death was what he had suggested. Had he made a post-mortem? Yes. The +body was quite healthy, and there was nothing else to cause death. +The epileptic seizure in the bath fully accounted for the accident. +He had known several cases in the course of his professional +experience. + +"How long after the accident did he see the body? About an hour. +He was out at the time he was sent for. Life must have been extinct +when the body was taken out of the bath. Probably the unfortunate +lady had been under the water for ten minutes or a quarter of an +hour when her husband discovered her. + +"The next day I made particular inquiries in the neighbourhood. +Mr. Coombes had moved immediately after the funeral. The furniture +had been sold by auction. I found the auctioneers. They had +forwarded the proceeds to Mr. Coombes' solicitors. + +"I found the solicitors. They wanted to know what Mr. Coombes' +affairs had to do with me. I explained that having read the inquest +in the papers I had formed the idea that Mrs. Coombes was a relative +of mine whom I had not seen for some years. They gave me +Mr. Coombes' address. He was living in chambers in Great +Russell Street. + +"Then I went to Mrs. Edwards and asked her to come with me. I had +an idea that I might be able to give her some information as to her +daughter's fate. We went to Great Russell Street, and I asked to see +Mr. Coombes. + +"The porter told us that he was out, but was expected back at +about four o'clock. At a quarter to four we returned. Mr. Coombes +had not come in. + +"At about ten minutes past four a gentleman came hurrying along. + +"As he came near, Mrs. Edwards gave a cry, and, had I not caught her, +would have fallen to the ground. + +"'What is it?' I said. + +"'That--that man!' gasped the old lady. 'It is John Carlton.' + +"The man was quite near us; he was turning into Russell Chambers. + +"I went up to him, and said, 'Mr. John Coombes, _alias_ John Carlton, +where is Miriam Edwards?' + +"At that moment I heard a shriek; I looked round--the old lady had +fainted. I ran to her assistance. + +"When I had, with the help of the hall porter, lifted her up, +Mr. John Coombes had disappeared. + +"I sent the old lady home and waited. Mr. Coombes did not return. +Then I went to Scotland Yard and saw one of the heads, and gave him +all the particulars in my possession. + +"Official information was soon obtained. Mr. John Coombes, whose +wife had died in her bath from an epileptic fit, was not quite +unconsoled for the loss of his partner. The lady was insured for +£5,000 in a life assurance office. The policy was an old one, and +dated from the time of her marriage. + +"The claim had not been paid, owing to certain formalities, but it +was not disputed. No idea of fraud had entered anyone's head. But +it is disputed now, and when Mr. Coombes is found he will be charged +with wilful murder." + +"He murdered his wife!" I exclaimed. + +"No," said Dorcas, "he murdered Miriam Edwards." + +"But----" + +"He didn't murder his wife, because the woman we found at Dover, who +was so like Miriam, _was_ his wife. There is no doubt they were very +fond of each other. All the evidence we could obtain pointed to that +fact. But he was in desperate need of money, so we found out, and his +accidental meeting one night with a girl who was the exact counterpart +of his wife in form and feature put a diabolical idea into his head. + +"He laid his plans well. He courted Miriam Edwards. On the Bank +Holiday he sent his wife away quietly, probably telling her to keep +out of the way for a time, for reasons on which his safety depended. +He got Miriam Edwards to the house on the pretence that it was the +one he had taken as a future home for them to live in when they were +married. The servants were away. The poor girl was done to death in +that house in some way which defied detection. The presumption is +that she was chloroformed. That would leave her powerless, and all +trace of the crime would have vanished before the post-mortem +examination. She was rendered insensible and laid in the bath, under +the water, and the rest was easy. There would be no resistance, no +outcry, only certain death, which would look like accident. + +"The resemblance of Miriam Edwards to Mrs. Coombes deceived everyone +but the mother. The doctor never dreamed that the body he was called +in to see was not that of Mrs. Coombes, the patient he was attending +for epileptic fits." + +"But surely," I said, "all this cannot be proved? The person who +might do so is not likely to speak, for she is his wife, and the man +was presumably alone, and would not convict himself." + +"No; we can only assume that the thing happened as I have said. But +we are certain that Miriam Edwards is in the coffin at Highgate +which lies under the stone on which is the inscription, 'Sacred to +the Memory of Jane, the beloved Wife of John Coombes.' The grave is +to be opened by the Home Secretary's order. + +"That is the mystery of the disappearance of Miriam Edwards." + +"But the jewellery?" + +"Must have been taken from the body of Miriam Edwards by Coombes +and given to his wife when he met her shortly afterwards. In all +probability it was his wife's jewellery first, and he borrowed it to +give to Miriam, for the purposes of his villainous plot." + +* * * * * * + +Later on I learned further particulars from Dorcas. + +When the body was exhumed by the Home Secretary's order, poor old +Mrs. Edwards recognised her daughter by certain birth-marks. There was +no doubt that Dorcas's theory was correct, and that the scoundrel had +murdered his wife's double in order to obtain his wife's insurance +money. + +John Coombes made good his escape. It is probable that, getting +abroad, he was there joined by his wife, who may still be in ignorance +of her husband's motive in disappearing for a time and travelling +about under a false name. Or she may have been a party to the +crime. + +* * * * * * + +Dorcas was congratulated by the chiefs of Scotland Yard on the +marvellous skill with which she had elucidated a mystery which at one +time looked like baffling even her exceptional abilities. + +It would probably have been a mystery still but for the fortunate +discovery of that Piece of Brown Paper with the torn label of +Messrs. Shoolbred and Co. upon it, in which Mrs. Coombes had wrapped +up her boots. + + + +_VIII. PRESENTED TO THE QUEEN_ + +I was busy writing in my study one evening about ten o'clock when +there came a loud ring at the bell. + +I am suspicious of loud rings after the last postal delivery. They +generally mean a long colloquy at the front door between my servant +and the bell-ringer, and as long as that colloquy lasts I am nervous +and excited. I live in a constant terror of being interrupted in my +evening's work. I set the night apart for the exercise of the +vocation by which I earn my daily bread, and any interruption is +fatal. + +In times gone by I occasionally yielded to urgent messages and +plausible tales, and gave the caller the five minutes demanded, but +I invariably found that I had been victimised by a bore with an axe +to grind, or a professional beggar who hoped that I should part with +a sovereign or some loose silver in order to get rid of the +interruption. + +Only those who have had actual experience of the dodges by which +unwelcome visitors obtain access to a busy man whose name may happen +to be before the public will understand the terror with which an +author who is working against time hears a ring at his front door +bell at ten o'clock at night. I have known men who have suffered +such systematic persecution in this direction that they have, in +sheer nervous terror, left London and buried themselves in +out-of-the-way places, and even then they have not secured the +privacy which was their heart's desire. + +"But that," as Rudyard Kipling has it, "is another story." On the +present occasion I had just made up my mind to walk out into the hall +and tell the intruder in strong language to go away, and never to +touch my bell again at that hour of the night, if he valued his life, +when my servant entered. + +"I'm very sorry, sir," she said, "but it is an old gentleman, and +he says he must see you; and he seems very upset, sir, and I thought +I'd better bring his card." + +I snatched the extended card with an angry exclamation and looked +at it. Then, with a sigh of resignation, I pushed my work away from +me and said, "Show the gentleman in." + +The name on the card was "Sir Joshua Broome," and Sir Joshua Broome +was a City magnate, a gentleman who had on more than one occasion +done me friendly service, and I could hardly drive him from my door +on the plea that I was engaged now that my servant had admitted that +I was at home. + +Directly Sir Joshua entered my study I saw that he was prey to the +most violent agitation. He apologised in a trembling voice for his +intrusion at that hour--he knew that my evenings were sacred to my +work--but the matter on which he had come to see me was of the most +vital importance to himself. + +He had heard me speak of my friend Dorcas Dene, the lady detective. +Would I give him her address? + +I wondered what on earth Sir Joshua Broome could want with a private +detective, but I wrote down the number in Oak Tree Road and handed +it to him. + +He thanked me, and rose to go. I saw at once that he was ill, and +having a great liking for the fine old fellow, I offered to accompany +him to Oak Tree Road and introduce him to Dorcas personally. + +He was evidently relieved by my offer. "It would be a great kindness +to me if you would," he said, "but I mustn't take you from your +writing!" + +"I shan't do any more to-night," I said, and I spoke the truth. The +thread was broken, and I might as well go and see Dorcas as sit +staring at the ceiling till midnight in the vain hope of recapturing +my lost ideas. + +Seeing that he was really eager for me to accompany him, I put on +my hat, lit a cigar, and went out into the street with him. + +Sir Joshua's brougham was at the door. + +I gave the coachman the address, and in ten minutes we were ringing +the bell of the garden gate in Oak Tree Road. My companion was still +agitated. When we got out of the carriage he leant on my arm for +support. + +He had only spoken once during the journey. + +When I said to him, "I trust it is not serious, Sir Joshua?" he +replied, "I don't know what to think, but if you care to hear my +story stay while I tell it to Mrs. Dene--I owe you every +confidence after your goodness in bringing me to her." + +* * * * * * + +"Now, Sir Joshua," said Dorcas, as soon as I had made the +introduction and explained that my friend was not only willing but +anxious that I should assist at the conference, "let me understand +in what way you think I can be of service to you." + +"I will explain as briefly as I can," replied Sir Joshua. "You +are possibly acquainted with my history, because it has lately been +in the papers, and I am, I suppose, a well-known public man. +Commencing in a very small way of business, I became in time a +leading City merchant, and I have lately received the honour of +knighthood in connection with the services I have been able to +render my political party. + +"At the last Drawing Room my wife, Lady Broome, was presented to +her Majesty. That is a week ago. This evening, on returning from +the City to my home at Wimbledon, I found a number of letters +awaiting me. Among them was this." + +He drew a letter from his pocket and handed it to Dorcas. + +"Read that," he said, "and you will understand why I have ventured +to intrude upon you at such an hour as this." + +Dorcas opened the letter and read it out aloud. It was written in +a disguised female hand: + +"Sir Joshua Broome,--I see your wife's name on the list of ladies +presented to the Queen. + +"It will be a nice disgrace to you and her and all your family when +you see in the _Court Circular_ that the presentation of Lady Broome +has been cancelled by the Queen's command. + +"Well, that is what will happen if my information gets to the Lord +Chamberlain's ears. I know something about Lady B. before you +married her. + +"The Queen does not have people of her sort presented at Court. +Lady B., before you married her, had been in prison, and I can +prove it. + +"But I'll hold my tongue for a thousand pounds. If you'll pay that +for the sake of your reputation in the City and your wife's in +society, put a line in the agony column of the _Daily Telegraph_-- +'To One Who Knows.--Agree terms.'--and I'll arrange where the +bank-notes are to be sent. + +"But don't try Scotland Yard or anything of that sort, because if I +am arrested I'll speak what I know, and it will be in every +newspaper in England. + +"This is genuine, and had better be attended to quickly. +--Yours, ONE WHO KNOWS." + +"It is an infamous attempt to blackmail!" exclaimed Sir Joshua, +as Dorcas finished the letter. "There is not a word of truth in it. +But it is a terrible thing to have said even in an anonymous letter. +I want you to take the matter up, Mrs. Dene, and try and find out +who the scoundrel is." + +"Yes," said Dorcas, looking keenly at the knight, "I can quite +understand that you are anxious to know; but, as there is not a word +of truth in it, why not put it in the hands of the police?" + +"But my wife's name--the allegation is so serious--the scandal +would be so terrible!" + +"What scandal?" said Dorcas, quietly. "You say that the story is +an infamous fabrication--that there is absolutely no truth in +it. Neither you nor Lady Broome can be injured by attempting to bring +the author of such a letter as this to justice." + +"I don't see it that way. It's horrible--I wouldn't have such a +thing as this get about for worlds. The police would go to the +Lord Chamberlain with it." + +"Well?" + +"And he would have to take some notice of it." + +"If there is no word of truth in it, you and your wife would have +only his sincere sympathy." + +"I can't do it!" exclaimed Sir Joshua, rising and pacing the room. +"I come to you to conduct the investigation for me privately. I want +to know who wrote the letter--that, it seems to me, is the first +thing to be done. Will you undertake the task of finding the writer?" + +"Certainly--if you wish it--that is my business. But I must be placed +in possession of the facts. Nothing must be kept back from me. If +the allegation were true it would be comparatively easy to trace the +author of it. We should then be able to work among those who were +_likely_ to know. As you say it is false, the field is very largely +extended. Anyone can trump up a charge that is false--only those who +know the facts can put forward a charge that is true." + +"You must take it from me that this thing is a lie," exclaimed the +knight somewhat testily. "I will answer for my wife's good name with +my life." + +"Very well," said Dorcas. "Then what I have to find is either +someone who believes that you are weak enough to part with £1,000 in +order to prevent a lying communication, which you can easily disprove, +being sent to the Lord Chamberlain, or someone who has a grudge +against your wife, and thinks that this letter will cause you to be +suspicious of her. + +"Now you must excuse me asking you certain questions, but it is +important I should have facts to go upon. + +"Who was Lady Broome when you married her?--who were her people, +and how long had you known her before you made her your wife?" + +Sir Joshua did not tell his story well--he was too excited to be +concise. But briefly the facts as he gave them to Dorcas Dene were +these. + +Some ten years previously, being a widower with two sons and a +young daughter, he engaged a governess for his little girl, who was +then fourteen. + +The governess came to him with excellent references. She had no +relatives, and apparently no friends, for she had no correspondence. +She was a Miss Grey. Her Christian name was Margaret. She was a very +handsome girl, and Mr. Broome--he was not Sir Joshua then--fell in +love with her. After she had been in his service six months he +proposed to her. + +She asked time to consider his proposal and went away. A few days +later he received a letter from her declining his offer, and saying +that under the circumstances of course she could not return to his +house. She had obtained a situation elsewhere. She presumed that he +would give her a reference to a lady. + +The lady eventually wrote to him, and he replied that she was +everything that she could wish--he could do no less, and he was +only speaking the truth. Miss Grey had won the regard of everyone in +the house. + +For two years after that he neither saw nor heard of Margaret Grey. +Then one day he accidentally met her in Kensington Gardens. She was +out of a situation and living in lodgings. He proposed to her again +and this time was accepted. + +Two months later the marriage took place, and he had never had +the slightest reason to regret it. + +His children were devoted to her and she to them, and she was +greatly admired wherever she went. There was not a more graceful or +more beautiful woman at the Drawing Room, and he had every reason to +be proud of her. + +"I have no doubt of it," said Dorcas, "but you must excuse me for +saying that all this is no _proof_ that your wife has not at +some point in her career been in one of her Majesty's prisons. Have +you shown her this letter?" + +"Yes." + +"What does she say?" + +"She is naturally terribly upset at such a monstrous charge--she is +quite prostrated by it." + +"And of course she indignantly denies it?" + +"Of course. Good heavens, madam! you don't suppose that I have +really married an ex-convict and presented her to the Queen! I tell +you this is a vile conspiracy to frighten me out of £1,000." + +"Yes, of course that is so under _any_ circumstances," said Dorcas. +"Now, if you please, you must furnish me with the date of Miss Grey's +first coming to you, the names and addresses of the people to whom +she referred you, and the date of your marriage to her." + +"I can do that from memory. Miss Grey came to me in the spring of +'87, and left me in the autumn. We met again early in '90, and were +married in the spring of that year." + +"And the references?" + +"She came to me in answer to an advertisement I inserted in the +_Times._ She referred me to the family with whom she had been +living, an American gentleman, a Mr. Garrod and his wife, who were +returning to America with the two children to whom Miss Grey had been +governess. That was why she was leaving." + +"Where did you see Mrs. Garrod?" + +"It was Mr. Garrod I saw. He was staying at the Langham Hotel." + +"Where had Miss Grey been governess to the Garrods?" + +"They had been travelling about England. For some months previous +to Margaret leaving them she and the children had been with Mr. Garrod +on the Continent; Mrs. Garrod, who was Mr. Garrod's second wife, and +not the mother of the children, had returned to America on account of +a relative's illness." + +"And when Miss Grey met you again two years after she had left +your employment, did she tell you where she had been living?" + +"With the lady who had referred to me. She lived with her as +governess to her daughters until the lady, owing to a reverse of +fortune, was compelled to dispense with her services. But if these +particulars are absolutely necessary to enable you to trace the +writer of this letter I will obtain every information of my +wife--she can, of course, give them more accurately than I can." + +"Naturally," said Dorcas, rising. "And now, Sir Joshua, if you will +allow me, I will come to Wimbledon to-morrow morning, and see Lady +Broome myself. It is quite possible she may be able to tell me +something which will give me a clue. Good night." + +"Good night," said Sir Joshua, rising. "I presume you will take +this matter up and go into it thoroughly. I wish no expense spared." + +"You may rely upon me," said Dorcas. "If Lady Broome will assist me I +have no doubt we shall run the writer to earth in a very short time. + +"But the first thing I shall do on your behalf will be to advertise +in the _Daily Telegraph:_ 'One who Knows.--Will agree terms if date +and particulars sent.' We shall then at least be in communication +with the writer." + +Sir Joshua bowed, and Dorcas and I accompanied him to the door, and +stood watching while the lights of his carriage disappeared as the +brougham turned into the St. John's Wood Road. + +"What do you think of it?" I said when we had returned to the +drawing-room where Paul, who had heard the visitor depart, had +already preceded us. "Do you think poor old Sir Joshua has really +made a terrible mistake in presenting his wife?" + +"I'll tell you after I've seen Lady Broome," said Dorcas. "To-day +is Tuesday--come in on Thursday evening. Make it late--say +eleven o'clock. I shall probably know a good deal more about the +case by that time." + +* * * * * * + +At eleven o'clock on Thursday evening when I arrived at Oak Tree +Road Dorcas was out, but Paul informed me she had sent a wire to say +she should be at home at midnight. + +It was a quarter-past twelve when she came, and she was evidently +tired with a long day's work. + +"Well," I said, as we gathered round the supper table--late supper +was a feature of the Dene _ménage,_ and one necessitated by the +exigencies of Dorcas's profession--"what news of the Broome case? +Did you see Lady Broome?" + +"Yes, I saw her the following morning, and found her all that her +husband had described her--handsome, graceful, and charming. But +of course I saw her at a great disadvantage. This anonymous threat +was preying on her mind." + +"Did she give you the particulars you wanted?" + +"To a certain extent, but the writer of the letter has given them +more fully. + +"My advertisement appeared in the _Daily Telegraph_ this morning. +At twelve o'clock Sir Joshua received this telegram, handed in at +the Central Office." + +I took the telegram from Dorcas and read it. + +"Old Bailey, November Sessions, 1886. Six months' imprisonment. +See case. Send notes--Thomson, c/o Winter, 17, Wellborough Street, +Borough, or must communicate Chamberlain." + +"Good gracious!" I said, as I returned the telegram to Dorcas, +"that's definite enough, and the sender evidently doesn't fear +arrest, as he gives address." + +"Yes, the charge is definite enough, and I've referred to the Old +Bailey records. + +"Margaret Grey, governess, aged twenty-five, was sentenced to six +months' imprisonment for stealing some rings from a jeweller's tray +while examining goods. + +"The jeweller's suspicions being aroused by the hasty manner in +which she turned to leave the shop after saying that the articles +were too dear, he stopped her, and two valuable rings were found in +the palm of her glove. At the police-station she at first refused +to give her name, but ultimately admitted that it was Margaret Grey, +and that she was a governess. + +"She desired that her employer might be telegraphed for. + +"Her employer, a Mr. John Garrod, attended at the police-court and +said Miss Grey had been in his employ for some time and bore a most +estimable character. He felt convinced she had no dishonest +intention; at the most it was a case of kleptomania. He expressed +his willingness if she were discharged to take her back immediately +into his employ, but the magistrate committed her for trial. + +"At the Central Criminal Court the judge, taking everything into +consideration, sentenced Margaret Grey to six months' imprisonment." + +"Garrod!" I exclaimed. "Why, that was the name of the gentleman +Sir Joshua saw at the Langham Hotel--it was he who gave Miss Grey +her reference." + +"Exactly," replied Dorcas, "and the date--the spring of 1887-- would +tally with the date at which Margaret Grey would be liberated." + +"But what does Lady Broome say to this?" + +"She can say nothing. The excitement and worry of the last two days +have had such an effect upon her that she has been taken seriously +ill. The doctor fears brain fever unless she is kept absolutely +quiet. She is at present in bed, and nothing must be said to her +on the subject." + +"And what does Sir Joshua propose to do?" + +"He is beside himself with terror and grief, and has placed himself +absolutely in my hands, to do whatever I think best." + +"And what have you done?" + +"I have been first of all to No. 17, Wellborough Street. It is a +small tobacconist's shop, kept by a man named Winter and his wife. + +"From what I can gather the tobacco business is a blind, and Winter +is a betting man. I suspect he is really something a good deal less +respectable than that. + +"The plans of the blackmailer are well laid, and I can see exactly +how it will work if the money is sent there in an envelope addressed +to Thomson. + +"If the police should be watching they will see plenty of people pass +in and out, and they won't be able to discover which of them is the +customer for the letter. + +"If they tell Winter they are police--which would be unlikely and +foolish--he will say he knows nothing of the matter; he often has +letters and parcels left there for customers, and he doesn't know +who Thomson is. + +"If there is any delay in asking, then he will say that the letter +came and Thomson called and took it away, and he will describe +Thomson as someone exactly opposite to the real Thomson in +appearance. + +"But my own idea is that neither Thomson nor Winter are afraid of +the police, and are convinced that Sir Joshua will be frightened +into paying blackmail. + +"This charge against his wife, under the peculiar circumstances, is +not one which a wealthy and well-known man would care to give to the +scandal-loving public, who are always ready to say, 'Ah, you may +depend there's something in it!' His wife's beauty and her diamonds +made a sensation at the Drawing Room, and Sir Joshua would hardly +care to make her the heroine of a blackmailing case, and to inform +everybody that his second wife, the beautiful Lady Broome, was his +children's governess." + +"Your arguments, my dear Dorcas, would be excellent supposing the +charge were untrue, but you have the strongest possible evidence that +the blackmailers have facts on their side. Margaret Grey _was_ +imprisoned for theft, and the employer of Margaret Grey, who spoke +for her in court, was Mr. John Garrod, who six months later gave her +a reference to Sir Joshua Broome, and stated that he was her last +employer. What can possibly be urged against such evidence as that?" + +"One thing, and one thing only," said Dorcas, as she handed +Toddlekins, the bulldog, the Spratt's biscuit which he always looked +for at supper-time. + +"And that is?" + +"This--that the governess recommended to Sir Joshua Broome by +Mr. John Garrod called herself Margaret Grey. + +"If she was the Margaret Grey who was tried and sentenced at the +Old Bailey, it was an exceedingly foolish thing for her to start on +a new career in the old name. + +"If Mr. John Garrod was willing to conceal the imprisonment from +Sir Joshua, he would certainly have been willing to consent to the +young lady assuming an alias. + +"_Why didn't she ask him to?_" + + + +_IX. THE ONE WHO KNEW_ + +A week had gone by since Dorcas had informed me of Lady Broome's +serious illness, and the only communication I had received with +regard to the terrible charge contained in the anonymous letter was +a little note from Dorcas herself, telling me that I had better not +come until I heard from her again, as the case would probably keep +her from home for some days. + +On the morning of the eighth day, while I was smoking my +after-breakfast pipe and skimming the _Daily Telegraph_, there +was a sharp ring at the bell and presently my servant entered with a +telegram. + +The telegram was as follows: + +"Meet me, Charing Cross. First-class waiting room. Noon. You can +help me. Dorcas." + +I was at Charing Cross Station at quarter to twelve. Punctually +on the stroke of noon, Dorcas entered the waiting-room. + +"I'm so glad you've come," she said. "You can help me in the +Broome case." + +"I shall be delighted. I have been expecting to hear something +about it from you every day." + +"There has been nothing really satisfactory to report," exclaimed +Dorcas, "but I think we shall get on the right track to-day. I have +been rather hindered by the illness of Lady Broome." + +"How is she?--not worse, I hope." + +"No, she is better. Her husband has been able to convince her that +he has the most absolute faith in her innocence, and he has told a +little white story which under the circumstances is pardonable. He +has assured her that the blackmailers, finding no money has been sent, +are reducing their terms, which is practically a confession that they +dare not put their threat into execution." + +"But what has really happened? Have they shifted their ground?" + +"Not an inch. This morning, Sir Joshua received a letter informing +him that 'One Who Knows' would give him only one more day's grace. +Unless the money was sent to the address given by ten o'clock this +evening the particulars of Lady Broome's trial and conviction would +be sent to the Lord Chamberlain's office without fail." + +"And have you discovered who the person is who 'knows,' and who is +willing to have a thousand pounds in bank-notes entrusted to this man +Winter?" + +"Yes, I have been keeping observation on No. 17, Wellborough Street, +and my assistant, the sergeant, has been helping me. I don't think +there is the slightest doubt that the writer of the letter is Winter's +wife--or at least the woman who passes as Mrs. Winter. She is a +good-looking woman of about two or three and thirty, well educated, +and in every way I should say the man's superior. But she is a heavy +drinker. The people in the neighbourhood through whom inquiries have +been made for me say that Mrs. Winter, when sober, is a well-mannered, +lady-like person. She speaks like a woman of education, but with a +slight American accent." + +"That doesn't tell you much about her." + +"Is there nothing that strikes you as peculiar in the description +I have given?" said Dorcas quietly. + +"No," I replied, "except that it is peculiar that a lady-like woman +of education should be living with a man who, if your suspicions +are correct, must be a very disreputable person." + +"That has no bearing on the case," replied Dorcas. "What _I_ think +is peculiar is that she has a slight American accent." + +"Why should that be peculiar in connection with this case?" + +"The reason that _I_ think so is this. Mr. John Garrod, who gave +evidence in favour of Margaret Grey, and at the expiration of +Margaret Grey's sentence, recommended a Margaret Grey to Sir +Joshua Broome, was an American." + +"Yes, of course--that is so. But there are thousands of American +women in London." + +"Yes--but there is still a coincidence which may be the first +finger-post on the high road to the Truth. If my suspicion that +this woman is the writer of the letter is correct--and I can't +conceive anybody else allowing a thousand pounds to be entrusted to +Winter--then we have these two facts to consider side by side. The +only person who appeared to know anything about Margaret Grey in +court was an American. The person who is now using the knowledge of +the trial of Margaret Grey for the purpose of blackmailing Margaret +Grey's husband speaks with an American accent." + +"But one was a man and the other is a woman." + +"Exactly," said Dorcas, "and so my next step must be to see if the +man _knows_ the woman." + +"You have found Mr. Garrod?" + +"Yes--late last night--that is why I telegraphed to you this morning. +I cabled to New York a week ago for information. Yesterday my +correspondent cabled that a John Garrod, a well-known citizen of New +York, had left for London a month previously. Last night I succeeded, +through the kindness of the _New York Herald's_ London agency, in +tracing Mr. John Garrod to the Hotel Métropole. We are going to call +on him now." + +"But how do you know that it is the same John Garrod?" + +"I gave my correspondent a full description of the gentleman I +wanted from the information Sir Joshua furnished me with. You forget, +Sir Joshua saw him at the Langham Hotel." + +We had been talking as we walked and I had been too interested in +the conversation to notice which way we were going. It was therefore +with something like a start that I heard Dorcas exclaim, "Here we are +at the Métropole. Now for Mr. John Garrod." + +"But will he see us?" I asked. + +"Oh, yes," said Dorcas, "I think so. I made an appointment last +night with an introduction from the London correspondent of the +_Herald_, who is a friend of mine." + +"Does he know you are a private detective?" + +"No, he only knows that my name is Mrs. Dene, and that I am calling +upon him with an introduction from the _Herald._ That is a pass-word +with all good Americans." + +"And why have you brought me?" + +"Because I want a witness to our conversation. When you are +cross-examining anyone the presence of a third party is invaluable. +It is the presence of an audience that worries a witness in a +cross-examination in a court of law. If the witness and the counsel +were fighting their duel alone in a room, half the counsel's +advantage would be gone." + +Dorcas went to the Inquiry Office and sent up her name to +Mr. Garrod, and in a few minutes the page returned with a request +that we would follow him. + +We were shown into a sitting-room on the second floor, and found +Mr. John Garrod, a tall, grey-haired, military-looking American of +the best type. + +He received us courteously, but I thought somewhat suspiciously, +and at once asked Dorcas to what he was indebted for the pleasure of +the interview. + +"I will tell you in a few words, Mr. Garrod," said Dorcas, shifting +her chair a little, so that her back was to the window, the light +from which fell full on the American's face. + +"This gentleman, Mr. Saxon, and myself are interested in a will, of +which Mr. Saxon is one of the executors. Among those to whom money is +left is a Miss Margaret Grey, formerly a governess in your employ." + +Mr. Garrod's face flushed at the mention of the name of Margaret +Grey, and then became deathly pale. + +"I--I certainly at one time had a person of that name in my house," +he said, after a pause. "But it is a good many years since we parted. +Why do you come to me about her?" + +"Because she is described in the will as residing with you." + +"And how did you know that I was in London?" + +"The _New York Herald_ people, to whom I went to inquire if you were +known in America, kindly informed me that you were here. I came to +you with their introduction." + +"Yes, I remember--of course. Well, I am sorry that I am unable to give +you any information as to my former governess's present whereabouts." + +He rose to emphasise the fact that the interview was at an end, but +Dorcas was by no means anxious to terminate it. + +"I am sorry," she said, "because our inquiries in other quarters led +us to believe that you _would_ know something. After her release from +prison she returned to you." + +The American stared at Dorcas open-mouthed for a moment, and then in +a trembling voice he exclaimed, "You know that! You know that she +was convicted!" + +"Yes, we found that out. We got the details of the case from the +Central Criminal Court's Sessions Reports, which are published +regularly in book form. I suppose there was no doubt of the poor +girl's guilt?" + +Mr. Garrod hesitated. "I--I don't wish to say anything. I did my +best to procure her acquittal." + +"Oh, yes, you behaved most generously. And after her release----" + +"She went away. I can tell you nothing. I have never seen her since. +It was a most painful affair to me then--it is most painful to me to +talk about now. I can give you _no_ information as to Miss Grey's +present whereabouts, and must beg you to excuse me--I have a business +appointment in the City." + +Dorcas rose from her chair, but did not move towards the door. + +"Well, then, I must be frank with you, Mr. Garrod, although you +won't be frank with me. I am determined to trace Margaret Grey's +subsequent movements. I am a private detective, acting in the +interests of Sir Joshua Broome, to whom you recommended Miss Grey. +Why did you not tell us that she left you to go to Sir Joshua?" + +Mr. Garrod bit his lip, and his brow clouded. + +"Why should I?" he said, defiantly. + +"Because Sir Joshua Broome has a right to know how you justify +your conduct in recommending to him as a governess to his children +a woman whom you knew to be a convicted thief." + +"I don't know how you have found all this out, or why after all +these years you have come here to charge me with it," exclaimed the +American, "but I give you my word of honour as a gentleman that when +I recommended Miss Grey to Mr. Broome--I didn't know he was Sir +Joshua--I recommended a young lady whom I believed to be an +honest woman." + +"But she had just served a sentence of six months' imprisonment +for stealing rings from a jeweller's shop. Innocent or guilty, you +had no right to conceal that fact from a gentleman who came to you +for Miss Grey's character." + +"I had not--but I did. I was in a terrible predicament, and I did +the best I could. I am quite sure that Miss Grey has done nothing to +disgrace the strong recommendation I gave her to Mr. Broome." + +"Nothing--on the contrary, her employer found her such an amiable +and estimable woman that he married her. Your former governess is +now Lady Broome." + +"Then, in Heaven's name, madam, why do you come to me with this +made-up story of a will? Why have you been cross-examining me as +to Miss Grey's past when you are well acquainted with it, and she +is now in an excellent position and beyond the reach of calumny?" + +"That is where you are mistaken, Mr. Garrod. At the present moment +Lady Broome is being blackmailed by a person who has a knowledge of +the Old Bailey conviction." + +"Blackmailed!" + +"Yes. About a fortnight ago Lady Broome was presented at a Drawing +Room. A day or two afterwards her husband received this." Dorcas +handed him the anonymous letter. + +Directly he glanced at it, he exclaimed: "My God!--it is too horrible!" + +"What is horrible?" exclaimed Dorcas, starting forward and gazing +steadily in his face. "You have not read the letter. Is it the +handwriting you recognise?" + +There was no answer. + +"I know who wrote this letter," exclaimed Dorcas, "so probably do you." + +"You know?--who is it then?" asked the American in a hoarse voice. + +"A woman who calls herself Mrs. Winter--a woman who lives at 17, +Wellborough Street, Borough, and speaks with an American accent." + +For a moment John Garrod stood silent. He was evidently a prey to +strong emotion. + +"Madam," he said, "if you will leave this letter with me for six +hours I will undertake that no more shall be heard of this infamous +threat." + +Dorcas shook her head. + +"That may be," she said, "but that will not clear the matter up. +There can be no going back now. I must either prove that Lady Broome +is innocent of this foul charge, or I must repeat to Sir Joshua your +acknowledgement that you were present in court when she was +convicted and sentenced." + +"If you will trust me with this letter I will give you my word of +honour that I will call upon Sir Joshua Broome this evening and tell +him all I know. Will you trust me?" + +"No," said Dorcas. "I must keep the letter, but you may have this +telegram which contains the name and address of the sender. Here is +the telegram and here is Sir Joshua's address." + +She scribbled the Wimbledon address on a card and handed it to him. + +"I shall be there at nine this evening," he said. + +"And I shall be waiting for you," replied Dorcas. + +Directly we were outside in Northumberland Avenue Dorcas turned to +me and said, "I have brought the American man and the woman with +the American accent together, you see." + +"Do you think Mr. Garrod is going to see Mrs. Winter?" + +"Of course he is. He recognised the handwriting. I was certain of +it the minute his eyes fell upon the letter." + +"Am I to come to Wimbledon to-night?" + +"Certainly. Sir Joshua told the beginning of the story in your +presence--there is no reason you should not hear the end of it +in his." + +"And you think that Lady Broome is innocent--that she was wrongfully +convicted?" + +"On the contrary, I don't believe she was ever convicted at all. +But to-night will clear up the mystery one way or the other. +Good-bye till then." + +"Are you going to Wellborough Street?" + +"No," said Dorcas, "what's the good? If anybody has to pay that +thousand pounds now it won't be Sir Joshua Broome, but Mr. John +Garrod." + +"But if it is a conspiracy, the conspirators may be warned by +Garrod's visit and escape." + +"If they run away," said Dorcas, "I shall know where to find them +if I want them. The sergeant is running up Sir Joshua's bill to an +enormous extent. He is going into Winter's place and putting a +sovereign on almost every horse in every race, and Winter thinks +he has found what I believe is known in the language of the +fraternity as 'a first-class mug.'" + +* * * * * * + +At nine o'clock that evening Sir Joshua sat in the big library of +his house at Wimbledon, anxiously waiting to renew his acquaintance +with Mr. John Garrod. Dorcas, who had told the fine old fellow the +result of her day's work, was in the boudoir with Lady Broome, who +was now sufficiently recovered to be up, but much too unwell to risk +an interview with her old employer. + +Sir Joshua had given me a cigar, and I had made myself comfortable +in a big easy chair. We were neither of us talking. We were both too +anxious and excited to do more than think. + +At a few minutes past nine Mr. Garrod was announced and shown into +the library. Sir Joshua received him courteously and begged him to be +seated, and sent the servant for Mrs. Dene. + +"Now, sir," said Sir Joshua, when our little party was complete +"Mrs. Dene informs me that she showed you the letter containing the +infamous charge against my wife, and that you promised to bring the +matter to a satisfactory conclusion, and to put me in possession of +the facts to-night. Is that the position?" + +"It is, Sir Joshua," said Mr. Garrod, speaking slowly and with +evident emotion, "and I am here to fulfil my promise. I am going to +place the whole facts before you, and then leave you to decide how +you will deal with me. I shall place myself absolutely in your +hands. + +"In the first place, let me at once ease your mind on one point. +When I sent Miss Grey to you I gave her the character she thoroughly +deserved." + +"Then," said Dorcas, interrupting, "Miss Margaret Grey, who is at +present Lady Broome, could never have been a convicted thief." + +"She never was. This is how it happened. I came to Europe with my +two children and my second wife for a stay of two or three years. I +had lost my first wife some years previously and had married again. +My second wife was a young lady of good birth, but, at the time I met +her, was, owing to family reverses, earning her living as a female +clerk in a big New York hotel. + +"It was a marriage that made a good deal of talk among my friends +and acquaintances, and so I came to Europe with her, bringing my +children with me. In London I went to a scholastic agency and engaged +a governess. Miss Margaret Grey was sent to me and proved in every +way an acquisition. + +"Soon after I came to Europe I made a terrible discovery. One day +to my horror, while out shopping with my wife, I noticed her pick up +something from the counter and conceal it in her muff. I instantly +exclaimed out loud, 'Wait a moment--let me ask the price,' and +when the shopman came back I pointed to the article and paid for +it. + +"My wife was a kleptomaniac! + +"I spoke to her seriously when we got home. I flung myself on my +knees and begged her to think of what this would mean to me if it +were discovered. I pointed out to her that if she were arrested and +imprisoned the story would go to America, and that she would put a +lasting shame upon me and mine. + +"She promised me with tears in her eyes that she would not do +anything of the sort again, and I believed her. I gave her all the +money she could want. I gratified her every wish that there might be +no temptation for her to steal again. + +"After travelling about the Continent we came to London, and +eventually I took a furnished house at Richmond, where I lived with +my wife and children, with Miss Grey as their governess. + +"One day my wife went to town alone in the morning. In the evening +I received a telegram from Bow Street. I hurried there and found that +my wife had been arrested for stealing a couple of rings from a +jeweller's tray. In her terror when asked for her name and address +she had at first refused it, but presently a diabolical idea entered +her head. She gave her name as Margaret Grey, said she was a +governess, and begged that I, her employer, might be telegraphed for." + +"Then it was your wife who was convicted as Margaret Grey!" +exclaimed Sir Joshua, springing up in his excitement. + +"Yes. Ah, you must not blame me too much for what happened afterwards +--think of the terrible position I was in. I was called to give +evidence on behalf of Margaret Grey, my governess. If I had said, +'This woman has given a false name--she is my wife,' my one hope of +getting her off would have been lost, and the case, which was now an +ordinary one of theft, and one briefly reported in the papers, would +have been written up and headlined all over the country, and would +have been cabled to America. I clutched at a straw, and let the +deception go on. After all, I might succeed in getting her acquitted +if I contended it was kleptomania. I know I ought to have told the +truth, but think what it would have meant to me. I still hoped that +even if the worst happened to my wife I might, when she was released, +reclaim her, and take her back to America without her shame ever +being known. + +"My first care when I found what had happened was to send my children +abroad with Miss Grey. I knew that Miss Grey never read the papers, +and would not see the case, but at Richmond one or two people would +know her name, and she might be questioned as to the similarity. +Abroad, even if the case were fully reported--and I intended to do +my best to keep it out--Miss Grey would not be likely to hear of it. + +"My wife was convicted, and sentenced at the Sessions to six months' +imprisonment. Then I joined Miss Grey and my children abroad. When +the sentence was nearly served, and the time was coming for my +unhappy wife to be liberated, I returned. I saw Mr. Broome's +advertisement in the _Times_, and answered it on behalf of Miss Grey, +who had declined to go with us to America. I told her that my wife +had gone home to see a relative who was ill. It was in that way I +accounted for her long absence. + +"I hoped--and my hope was justified--that very few people would have +seen the case. The report was only a few lines, and recorded the fact +that Margaret Grey, aged twenty-five, had been convicted of theft. In +only one paper did the reporter give my name as having been called as +a witness to character. Mr. Broome had evidently not seen it, for when +I mentioned that the lady's name was Margaret Grey he made no remark. + +"I was obliged to give her real name. How could I have asked her to +take another? It would have aroused her suspicions at once, and +possibly all would have been discovered. + +"Mr. Broome was satisfied with my recommendation, and when I left +for America with my wife and children I had the satisfaction of +knowing that Miss Grey had found a comfortable home, and that she had +not suffered in any way from my unhappy wife's appropriation of her +name at the police-court. + +"Unfortunately, after my wife's release, she gave way to habits of +intemperance. Our life was a most unhappy one. After two years of +misery she left me with a man who was coming to England, and from +that day I heard no more of her--until--until----" + +"Until this morning," said Dorcas. + +"Yes," replied Mr. Garrod, with a deep sigh. "Your conjecture is +correct. I recognised the handwriting, though it was disguised. I +went to the address you gave me, and there I found the wretched woman +whom I had married, and from whom after her flight I had obtained a +divorce. + +"I insisted upon seeing her. I told the man Winter who I was, that +I knew the infamous conspiracy they had hatched between them, and +that unless my wife saw me I would go to the police and bring the +facts before them. + +"Winter yielded to my threats, and I had an interview with my wife. +I insisted on a confession, telling her that if she refused it I +would go to Scotland Yard and tell the whole story, no matter what +the consequences might be to myself. + +"I insisted on her telling me how she had discovered Lady Broome-- +I wanted to know for your sake, Sir Joshua, and for your wife's, if +the wretched woman had any accomplice beyond the man who passes for +her husband. + +"Her story was a simple one, and is probably true. On the occasion +of the last Drawing Room she was in the crowd watching the carriages +drive into the gates of the Palace. Your wife was pointed out by +someone in the crowd. 'That's Lady Broome, Sir Joshua Broome's wife,' +said a bystander. My wife looked, and instantly recognised our former +governess, Margaret Grey. + +"She told the man Winter, and between them they hit upon the idea +of blackmailing you. They calculated that the facts they would refer +you to would be so strong that no denial on Lady Broome's part would +allay your terror, and that rather than have the matter gone into by +the Lord Chamberlain, and the scandal discussed far and near in the +Press and in Society, you would send the money. + +"Now that you know the truth, Sir Joshua, there is no more to be +feared from her. But I am responsible to you for my share in the +transaction, and I will make any public acknowledgement you wish." + +"There is no necessity," said Sir Joshua, rising. "We shall never +hear any more of the matter from these people, and if we ever hear +of it from any other quarter, we can prove at once how the mistake +has arisen." + +Mr. Garrod rose, and Sir Joshua put out his hand. + +"You have my hearty sympathy in your misfortune, sir," he said, +"and I quite understand the terrible position you were in when you +found your wife had given her name to the police as Margaret Grey." + +* * * * * * + +We spent the rest of the evening with Lady Broome, now happily +relieved from all anxiety, and when we took our departure Sir Joshua +handed Dorcas a little envelope. She put it in her pocket, and +invited me to return to Oak Tree Road and have supper with Paul. + +It was in Paul's presence that she opened the letter, and read +it aloud: + +"My dear Mrs. Dene,--I and my wife owe you more than we can ever +repay. But for you I should probably have paid £1,000 to two +infamous wretches and have been a miserable man for the rest of +my days. The £1,000 belongs to you. Enclosed is a cheque for the +amount, which by no means represents our indebtedness to you for +the splendid service you have rendered us.--Believe me, dear +Mrs. Dene, Yours most sincerely, Joshua Broome." + +"A thousand pounds!" exclaimed Dorcas. "Isn't that a princely fee?" + +Then she put her arm round her blind husband's neck, and drew his +face lovingly to hers. + +"Ah, Paul, dear," she said, with a happy sigh, "now we can go away +together and have a long, long holiday." + +_THE END_ + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES +- Underscores have been used to enclose words and phrases which are, +in the original text, italicized. As in: _Italics_ +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78210 *** diff --git a/78210-h/78210-h.htm b/78210-h/78210-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ae17664 --- /dev/null +++ b/78210-h/78210-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4839 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> +<meta charset="UTF-8"> +<title>Dorcas Dene, Detective: Her Adventures | Project Gutenberg</title> +<link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> +<style> +.dinkus { + text-align: center; + margin: 0.5em 0; + font-size: 1.5em; +} + +.dinkus span { + margin: 0 0.75em; +} + +p { + margin: 5px 0 15px 0; +} + +.page { + max-width: 700px; + margin: 0 auto; + padding: 0 1em; +} + +</style> +</head> +<body style="text-align: justify;"> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78210 ***</div> +<div class="page"> +<h1 style="text-align:center;"> + Dorcas Dene, Detective<br> + <span style="font-size:25px;"><em>Her Adventures</em></span> +</h1> +<h2 style="text-align:center;"><u>Second Series</u></h2> +<h2 style="text-align:center;">by George R. Sims</h2> +<h3 style="text-align:center;">Table of Contents</h3> + +<table style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> +<tbody> +<tr> +<td>I.</td><td> <a href="#C1">THE MISSING PRINCE</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>II.</td><td> <a href="#C2">THE MORGANATIC WIFE</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>III.</td><td> <a href="#C3">THE HOUSE IN REGENT'S PARK</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>IV.</td><td> <a href="#C4">THE CO-RESPONDENT</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>V.</td><td> <a href="#C5">THE HANDKERCHIEF SACHET</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>VI.</td><td> <a href="#C6">A BANK HOLIDAY MYSTERY</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>VII.</td><td> <a href="#C7">A PIECE OF BROWN PAPER</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>VIII.</td><td> <a href="#C8">PRESENTED TO THE QUEEN</a></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>IX.</td><td> <a href="#C9">THE ONE WHO KNEW</a></td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> + +<h3 style="text-align:center;" id="C1">I. THE MISSING PRINCE</h3> + +<p>I was talking to Mr. Alfred Moul, the amiable manager of the +Alhambra, and complimenting him upon the new decorations of the +theatre, but he was not listening to what I said. I saw at once that +he had something on his mind, so using the privilege of an old friend +I asked him what was worrying him.</p> + +<p>"That," he said, pointing to the big box usually reserved for +royalty.</p> + +<p>"But there's nobody in it."</p> + +<p>"Exactly—that's why I'm worried. I received an intimation +yesterday that the box was to be reserved for his Royal Highness +Prince —— of ——, who is in London for a few +days, and it is now a quarter to ten and his Royal Highness has not +turned up. The ballet was due to commence at 9.30, and I can't put it +off any longer. You'll excuse me, won't you—I must go and tell +Jacobi to start the overture—I can't keep a packed house waiting +for a foreign prince if he <em>is</em> the heir to a throne!"</p> + +<p>Mr. Moul left me, and a few minutes later Mr. Jacobi, all smiles, +took the place he has occupied for so many years, and, tapping on his +desk, commenced the long-overdue overture to the gorgeous ballet which +was attracting all London to the Alhambra.</p> + +<p>I had come to see Mr. Moul privately on a matter of business. I had +seen the ballet on the night of its production, and so I turned to go +away. As I jostled my way through the crowded promenade I felt a tug +at my coat sleeve, and looking round I recognised a detective +inspector who had assisted Dorcas Dene on one or two occasions, and +to whom I had been introduced at Oak Tree Road.</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Dene saw you talking to Mr. Moul just now, Mr. Saxon," he +said, "and she told me to bring you to her."</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Dene here," I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"No—she was, but she left. She's waiting for us at the Cavour. +We are going to have some supper, and she hopes you will join us."</p> + +<p>A minute later I was seated at a quiet corner table with Dorcas +and Inspector Carr, and the smiling and ever courteous Philippe was +personally attending to our wants, and impressing upon the waiter who +was taking our orders that everything was to be <em>soigné</em>.</p> + +<p>"Now," I said to Dorcas, as soon as the menu had been settled and +the waiter had brought us the wine, "what on earth were you doing at +the Alhambra?"</p> + +<p>"I went to see if the Prince was going to occupy his box."</p> + +<p>"And he didn't. I really don't see what personal interest you can +have in the matter, which after all is not a very remarkable one. +Probably his Royal Highness has another engagement and couldn't get +away."</p> + +<p>Dorcas looked at the inspector, and the inspector replied for her.</p> + +<p>"The fact is, Mr. Saxon," he said, "Mrs. Dene and myself are +trying to fathom one of the greatest mysteries of modern times, and +we've just come to the point where we want the assistance of a +linguist. Mrs. Dene, directly she saw you at the Alhambra, said you +were the very man to help us."</p> + +<p>"I am very much obliged," I replied, nodding gratefully to Dorcas, +"but it is evidently a police matter by your being concerned in it, +and you have plenty of linguists on the staff at the Yard?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and as a matter of fact they are, most of them, at the +present moment busily engaged in trying to solve the mystery for +themselves. But I am particularly anxious to score in this matter, +and being sure that the others are quite on the wrong scent, I went +to Mrs. Dene, for whose talents you know I have always had an intense +admiration, and told her the case and my view. She started another +theory altogether, and I was so struck by it that I abandoned mine +and took hers up. That is why we were together at the Alhambra when +we so fortunately discovered you."</p> + +<p>"I <em>am</em> a bit of a linguist," I replied when the inspector +had finished, "but Greek is not one of my accomplishments, and up to +the present, all you have said is Greek to me. Tell me what the case +is in plain English."</p> + +<p>Dorcas laughed. "In plain English," she said, "his Royal Highness +Prince —— of —— left his hotel yesterday +evening unaccompanied by any member of the small suite he has with +him, and he has not been seen or heard of since."</p> + +<p>"A Royal Prince lost in London!" I exclaimed, dropping the piece +of grilled fowl which I had just raised on my fork. "Impossible! That +sort of thing can only happen in a new Arabian Night."</p> + +<p>"There is so little impossibility about it," said the inspector +gravely, "that the suite are distracted. The news has been telegraphed +to the Prince's relatives, and communications are passing hourly +between the secret police of —— and our chiefs. There are +twenty detectives at the present moment searching London, in the +hope of discovering his Royal Highness's whereabouts. This morning, +immediately on receipt of the news, the chief of the police in the +Prince's capital, accompanied by half a dozen officers, started for +England."</p> + +<p>"But there has been nothing in the newspapers?"</p> + +<p>"No—so far the secret has been admirably kept. There are +strong political reasons why the matter should not be divulged. The +Prince is the heir to the throne, and the rumour that he had +disappeared might lead to the gravest consequences in his capital."</p> + +<p>"But after all," I said, "it may not be serious. The Prince is +young—if report speaks truly, he is also flighty, and fond of +adventure. He may be amusing himself."</p> + +<p>"No," said Dorcas, emphatically, "that story won't hold water for +a moment. Had he intended to absent himself for private amusement, he +would certainly have communicated with the distinguished officer who +is in attendance upon him. He would know that his absence would cause +alarm, and lead to police inquiries, and he would not risk that. His +Royal Highness is <em>unable</em> to communicate the reason of his +mysterious absence, and therefore he must be either lying somewhere +too ill to make his identity known, or he must be in the power of +those who prevent him from sending a message."</p> + +<p>"How did he go out—in what dress?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"In ordinary evening dress. He speaks English fluently, and knows +London fairly well. Princes do not carry large sums of money about +with them, because they are not in the habit of paying cash. His +valet declares that he had not more than five pounds in money about +him at the most."</p> + +<p>"Did he say where he was going when he went out?"</p> + +<p>"No. It was ten o'clock. He had dined quietly in his apartments +at the hotel—our own Royal Family, you know, are all away from +London—and after dinner he said he was going for a stroll +through the streets. He did not desire to be accompanied by +anyone."</p> + +<p>"And no one has seen him since he left the hotel last night?"</p> + +<p>"No one, so far as can be ascertained. He is not sufficiently well +known to attract special attention as a prince, and in evening dress +he would pass easily as an ordinary English gentleman. But from ten +last night until the present moment all trace of him has been lost. +He has dropped completely and suddenly out of existence."</p> + +<p>We had finished our supper, and M. Philippe had ordered us some +coffee, and had brought us a bottle of liqueur brandy from the Emperor +Napoleon's cellar, and Dorcas had given us permission to light our +cigarettes.</p> + +<p>"Well," I said, after I had puffed my smoke into several rings, +and gazed thoughtfully into the centre of each, "the Prince has +disappeared, the entire detective force of London has started in hot +pursuit of him, but Mrs. Dorcas Dene and Mr. Inspector Carr are going +to find him. When?"</p> + +<p>"To-night, we hope," replied Dorcas, shaking her head as the +inspector offered to fill her liqueur glass.</p> + +<p>"That's all right; and you have done me the distinguished honour +of inviting me to join in the search because I speak one or two +foreign languages. What language do you want me to speak?"</p> + +<p>"None."</p> + +<p>I stared in astonishment. "If I am to speak none, what use will +my knowledge be to you?"</p> + +<p>"You can listen," replied Dorcas, "and tell us afterwards what you +have heard. It may be in French, it may be in German, it may be in +Italian."</p> + +<p>"I understand. But how are you going to arrange that people shall +talk in these languages before me, and on the subject in which you +are interested?"</p> + +<p>"That is Mr. Carr's task," said Dorcas. "He will introduce you +into certain society this evening and arrange for your safety."</p> + +<p>"And you really think we shall unravel the mystery of the Prince's +disappearance to-night?"</p> + +<p>"I hope so. But whether we shall be able to manage entirely by +ourselves depends upon how far my theory is correct. Inspector Carr +wants to bring off a big thing, you see. He wants to be able to +inform his Chief that Prince —— of —— is back +at the hotel, and have all the credit of having restored the heir to +the throne of —— to his friends without the slightest +reference to his disappearance finding its way into the Press."</p> + +<p>"The truth is, Mr. Saxon, that my Chief has given this job to the +foreign lot at the Yard, and I can't see that they are any cleverer +than we Englishmen. I want an English detective to do this job, +because it's a very big one, and there's a lot hanging to it. I want +to show them that an English detective is quite as clever as a +foreigner, and I think, with Mrs. Dene's help, and you to do the +'lingo,' I may pull it off. At any rate, we'll have a good try. I'm +working with Dorcas Dene, and I reckon she's worth all the foreigners +in our place put together."</p> + +<p>"That's a very big compliment you are paying me, Mr. Carr," said +Dorcas, smiling. "However, I think my information with regard to the +Prince has been of some use to you, and if my idea <em>is</em> +correct, we may not have such a difficult task after all. But we'd +better be going."</p> + +<p>The inspector wanted to pay the bill, but I insisted on making +the supper mine, and having bidden Philippe good-night, we took our +departure.</p> + +<p>In Leicester Square we found a four-wheeled cab waiting for us. +Directly we were in the cab the detective handed me a revolver.</p> + +<p>"You'd better slip that into your pocket in case of accidents," +he said, "but don't use it if you can help."</p> + +<p>The cab went on for a little while, and then stopped suddenly, +and looking out of the window I saw we were in Soho Square.</p> + +<p>The inspector asked us to get out, and we walked round the square, +we two smoking, and Dorcas between us. The square was in darkness +and quite deserted, as Soho Square generally is late at night.</p> + +<p>Presently we saw a female coming slowly round the square. Dorcas +took my arm and led me across the road. The detective went on into +the shadow, and the female figure stopped close by him.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" I said. "Does this woman know where the Prince is?"</p> + +<p>"No, she hasn't an idea what we are after. She is the English wife +of a foreign Anarchist who lives in London. Mr. Carr knows her. She +is devotedly attached to her husband, and at the present moment she +is bargaining for his life."</p> + +<p>"For his life?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, he is wanted by the foreign police. Carr found out two or +three days ago where to lay his hand on him. If he is taken and sent +back to Madrid, where he was concerned in an outrage, his death is a +certainty. I advised Mr. Carr to get at the wife and make terms. I +wanted certain information to act upon to-night. If she gives that +information it may be the means of our finding the Prince. For that +information Mr. Carr is promising the poor creature that her husband +shall be allowed to escape."</p> + +<p>"Can you promise that?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—our Government won't mind letting off an Anarchist if +the result is what I confidently anticipate it will be."</p> + +<p>"And that result——?"</p> + +<p>"Will be the execution of five of the most dangerous men in +Europe."</p> + +<p>"Are they all in London, then—these five men?"</p> + +<p>"No, they are all in prison on the Continent. They are to be +executed the day after to-morrow at seven o'clock in the morning."</p> + +<p>"You mean the five Anarchists concerned in the —— +outrage. What on earth can all this have to do with the mysterious +disappearance of Prince —— of —— in +London?"</p> + +<p>"If I am wrong in <em>my</em> theory—nothing. If I am +right—everything. But here comes the inspector, and I hope +with good news."</p> + +<p>There was no doubt about the nature of the detective's news. His +first words settled that. "Got 'em," he said, "but we must make haste, +the meeting's at one o'clock."</p> + +<p>"Where?" said Dorcas.</p> + +<p>"Round the watchman's fire where the road's up in Kennington Lane. +Old Charley's information as to their last meeting was correct, you +see."</p> + +<p>"Excellent! Then now the arrangements you made this afternoon in +anticipation will have to be carried out?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—I told you if your idea was right I could guess the +gang that were in it. I saw old Charley the watchman, and told him +I'd give him a fiver to let me hide, but of course it wouldn't have +been any good, because I don't understand their language, but +Mr. Saxon can manage that splendidly."</p> + +<p>I began to realise what was expected of me, and I didn't relish +the situation.</p> + +<p>"It's all right," said the inspector; "the only light is old +Charley's bucket of coke and the dull red lamps on the barriers. +You'll be railed off with poles lying in a hole in the roadway and +a tarpaulin over that, and the tilted-up truck that he makes his +shelter with will be in front of you—and I shall be there with +you, so there's not the slightest occasion for alarm. If it comes to +that I'll have a couple of plain clothes men round the corner out of +sight ready to run up when I whistle, but of course I want to avoid +that if possible. All I want to do to-night is to know what these men +say—not to take any of them."</p> + +<p>"But are you sure you can rely on the watchman—he might +betray us!"</p> + +<p>"Not a bit of it. He lodged in a house with one of +them—that's how they got to know him. They come and sit on a +plank across two barrels in front of the fire and talk. All he gets +out of them is a sup at the brandy bottle and some baccy. I've +promised him a fiver. Come along."</p> + +<p>We got into the cab again, and I began to clutch my revolver. I +was half sorry I had gone to the Alhambra. I couldn't back out of the +thing now without appearing a coward.</p> + +<p>Dorcas, I think, guessed I was nervous, and reassured me. She had +every confidence in the inspector, who was an old hand with desperate +men, and she was sure I was quite safe with him. She strongly advised +no extra aid being had, as it would cause delay. After all, there +were three of us, for the watchman would be on the side of the +police.</p> + +<p>When we got to within a couple of streets of the place, we got out. +Dorcas was to keep the cab, and drive to a square in the neighbourhood +and wait for us. The cab was driven by her regular man, so that she +would be all right.</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>It was half-past twelve when the inspector, after a short and +hurried conversation with a night-watchman sitting in front of his +coke fire where the road was up in Kennington Lane, pointed out to us +our place of concealment. We had to get down into the cavity commenced +for the re-drainage. Fortunately it was deep enough for us to stand +upright in. The tarpaulin was not necessary. By placing a couple of +planks across with a space between we were completely hidden. The men +might have walked over our heads and never suspected our presence.</p> + +<p>Old Charley, by the detective's directions, shifted his truck and +his fire back so as to bring the plank on which the men would sit +quite close to our hiding-place. They would sit with their backs +towards us. Buttoning our over-coats closely to we descended into +our quarters, and were duly planked in.</p> + +<p>It seemed an hour before there were signs of an arrival, but the +conspirators were punctual, for as the clock was striking one they +commenced to arrive. I guessed there were four of them by the +different voices I heard. One, I gathered from the conversation, +which was entirely in French, had arrived from Manchester only a +couple of hours previously, in obedience to a telegram which had been +sent him.</p> + +<p>The conversation was not particularly intelligible to me at first. +The men made mysterious allusions which would have been puzzling to +me in English, but which in a foreign language were absolutely beyond +my comprehension.</p> + +<p>At first they muttered a good deal, the habit of caution being +strong upon them, but gradually they became animated, and secure in +the impossibility of Old Charley understanding a word they said, and +the utter loneliness of the place at that hour in the morning, they +began to talk with greater freedom and in a louder tone.</p> + +<p>Their conversation was principally directed to the fate of their +comrades, the five Anarchists who were lying under sentence of death, +and whose execution was a matter now of some thirty hours.</p> + +<p>"We will save them," said the man who seemed to be the ruling +spirit; "our brave comrades shall not die—we may even compel +the Government to set them secretly at liberty."</p> + +<p>The man from Manchester, who was evidently considerably in the dark +as yet, said he was glad to hear it, but what did they propose to +do—threaten to blow up London or Paris, or what?</p> + +<p>"No," replied the leader, "threats are of no avail. We have tried +all that, and the only result is that the friends of Anarchy are +everywhere driven out by the police authorities, and many of those +who have to fly are innocent men and only with us in sympathy."</p> + +<p>"Then what will you do?" asked the Manchester Anarchist. "We are +a thousand miles away. What can we in London do to paralyse the arm +of a foreign government?"</p> + +<p>"Hold a hostage," growled the leader, and the others growled in +approval.</p> + +<p>"And where are you to find the hostage?"</p> + +<p>"We <em>have</em> found him. That is why we have summoned you, +who are one of the Council of Determination for England."</p> + +<p>"Found a hostage—it must be a big one to save our comrades."</p> + +<p>"It is a big one. We have done a thing which will ring through +the world, and make the Governments of Europe grow pale, and tyrants +tremble on their thrones. We have at our mercy the heir to the throne +of ——."</p> + +<p>I gripped the detective's arm in my excitement.</p> + +<p>"Prince —— at your mercy! Yes, I remember he is in +London. You will threaten to assassinate him—but that is no +good. He will be watched and guarded—the police will surround +him day and night."</p> + +<p>"It is too late. He is already our prisoner."</p> + +<p>"Your prisoner! Bravo—bravissimo! But, thunder of Heaven, +how have you done that?"</p> + +<p>"We have done it—it is enough."</p> + +<p>"And where is he? If he has disappeared the police must be moving +heaven and earth to find him—if they suspect us every Anarchist +in England will be arrested."</p> + +<p>"They do not suspect us. The fools! they do not see our object. +They think he has gone out of his mind or slipped off with a woman. +We have heard their foreign spies talking. Ha! ha! what fools they +are!"</p> + +<p>"Then you have him safe where he is not likely to be found or to +escape?"</p> + +<p>"He will not be found. He cannot escape."</p> + +<p>"Good. Then what do we do next?—for the hour draws near. +There is but to-morrow between our comrades and the vengeance of the +tyrants."</p> + +<p>"To-morrow morning I telegraph in our agreed secret language to a +comrade in France. He telegraphs from a small post-office in the +country where they do not understand English his message in English +to the Prince's father: 'If our five comrades do not receive a +remission of the death sentence by midnight, and that remission is +announced by official publication, of which our comrade in your +capital will acquaint us, you have signed the death warrant of your +son. He is in our power, and he will be assassinated at the hour +fixed for the execution of our comrades. If you attempt to betray +us or make use of this message, we may be taken, but your son will +have ceased to live. Decide!"</p> + +<p>"Excellent!" said the Anarchist from Manchester, "but the Prince's +father has no power over the —— Government. They may +execute our comrades all the same."</p> + +<p>"No—the Prince is married to the sister of the Queen of +——. She cannot sign the death warrant of her sister's +husband."</p> + +<p>"And if our comrades are reprieved?"</p> + +<p>"The Prince, if he gives us his oath to remain silent and give +the police no clue which might lead to our identification, shall +have his liberty. Are we not generous?"</p> + +<p>"Too generous to the tyrants! Ah, it would be good to keep this +royal scamp and hang him—I would be the hangman for nothing!"</p> + +<p>"Our programme is settled then," said the leader. "Now each to +his home a separate way. The police may tumble by accident on the +truth, and it is well to be cautious and keep apart. I will see to +the sending of the message at once. I will go to one of the chief +offices that are open all night. I had to wait for the Council of +Four—now we are agreed, I can act."</p> + +<p>We heard the men move, and bid old Charley, who little suspected +that he had been witness to a plot for the murder of the heir to a +European throne—not one of the first importance, but a throne +for all that—good night, and presently the last sound of +footsteps had died away.</p> + +<p>Then we crept out of our hiding-place, knowing that the darkness +of the night covered us, and I told the inspector what I had heard.</p> + +<p>"Great Heaven!" he exclaimed, "then Dorcas Dene was right after +all. The Prince has been kidnapped by desperate Anarchists, and his +life is at their mercy. Let us go to her at once. I am not sure, +seeing how desperate the case is, that I dare keep this to +myself—I ought to report it to my chief at once."</p> + +<p>We found Dorcas and told her, and the inspector explained that he +thought he ought to return to the Yard at once and report +everything.</p> + +<p>Dorcas looked up at the great detective quietly.</p> + +<p>"I shouldn't do that if I were you," she said. "We should be +losing time. It will be much better for you to find the Prince +yourself and set him at liberty."</p> + +<p>"But how—how can we find him?"</p> + +<p>"It is simplicity itself," replied Dorcas, "now we know that four +men have the secret. If you do as I suggest I think we shall have his +Royal Highness sleeping a great deal more comfortably to-morrow night +than he is at present."</p> + +<p>Suddenly Dorcas grasped the inspector's arm.</p> + +<p>"Look—that man—at the corner yonder. He is watching +us."</p> + +<p>The detective gave a quick glance. "It is the girl's husband!" he +cried. "He was one of them."</p> + +<h3 style="text-align:center;" id="C2">II. THE MORGANATIC WIFE</h3> + +<p>The place was deserted.</p> + +<p>The figure of the watching Anarchist, which for a moment had stood +out clear and distinct as he came momentarily into the light of the +opposite lamp-post, was now scarcely visible. He had drawn back and +stood in the shadow of a doorway.</p> + +<p>"He doesn't know we've seen him," said Dorcas under her breath. +"If he knew he would have moved further away than that."</p> + +<p>"Yes—but he's evidently watching us for some reason," +exclaimed the Inspector. "The men separated and went in different +directions—old Charley told us so when we came out of our +hiding-place. Why has Vossche taken up his station there?"</p> + +<p>"The explanation probably is that his road lay this way—he +noticed a four-wheel cab stopping here and wondered what it was +doing. Anarchism is a desperate game, and the men who play it see a +possible danger in everything. He wanted to satisfy himself why the +cab was waiting, and saw you and Mr. Saxon come across. He may know +you or he may not, but he evidently means to keep here till we drive +off."</p> + +<p>"And what can he do then?"</p> + +<p>"That depends. If he has recognised you as a Scotland Yard man he +will at once take means to communicate with the others and inform +them of the suspicious circumstances. But he may follow us."</p> + +<p>"How can he? We're riding and he's on foot."</p> + +<p>"The best thing for us to do is to drive off slowly. We shall find +out then if he means following us and how he is going to do it."</p> + +<p>Dorcas put her head out of the off-side window and said to the +driver in a low voice, "Go on slowly."</p> + +<p>The man gathered his reins together and let the horse go his +own pace.</p> + +<p>In a minute or two there was a slight jar on the springs behind.</p> + +<p>"I thought he'd do that," said Dorcas, quietly pulling the window +up so that the sound of our voices could not be carried outside. "Now +you two, get ready. Turn the handles of the doors quietly and get +ready to spring out. You can do it safely at the pace we're going, +which is only a crawl. By the time you are out the man will be level +with you or a foot or two ahead. Before he can jump off you can seize +both his arms and secure him."</p> + +<p>"We shan't get anything out of him," said the detective. "He's a +desperate fellow, and would die rather than betray the cause."</p> + +<p>"At any rate we can prevent him giving the others the tip. A +hint to them that a Scotland Yard man had been seen in the +neighbourhood of their meeting place to-night might be fatal to our +chances of finding the Prince. Are you ready?"</p> + +<p>We turned the door handles noiselessly.</p> + +<p>"Now," said Dorcas, and the next minute we had made a jump for +the roadway. I nearly fell, but recovered myself as the astonished +cabman pulled up short. In a second the Inspector had Jean Vossche +by one arm, and before he could cry out I had him by the other. As +we dragged him from his uncomfortable perch he struggled like a +madman, and we had to use both our hands to hold him.</p> + +<p>Dorcas stepped quietly out of the cab, and came to our assistance. +Slipping her hand into my pocket she pulled out the revolver and +pressed the cold muzzle to the Anarchist's forehead.</p> + +<p>"Don't make a noise," she said, "and please don't move. I'm not +used to firearms, and it might go off."</p> + +<p>The man, recovering himself with an effort, gasped out in broken +English, "What I do?—I only ride behind your dam cab! Let me +go!"</p> + +<p>"Sorry we can't oblige you, Mr. Jean Vossche. We've room for one +inside—you'll be much more comfortable there. But as it's dark, +and you're a reckless sort of beggar, I'll just slip the darbies on +you. I didn't know I should want them, but 'It's always handy to have +'em in the house,' as the song says."</p> + +<p>With a dexterity born of long practice, Inspector Carr slipped the +handcuffs on his prisoner, and taking the revolver from Dorcas, +politely pointed to the interior of the cab.</p> + +<p>"He'll kick a bit, perhaps," said the Inspector to Dorcas. "You'd +better get up by the driver. I'm going to deposit him at the nearest +police-station—there's one just round the corner."</p> + +<p>"Then I'll walk," said Dorcas, "and join you there. Do you know +the officer on duty?"</p> + +<p>"If I don't he'll know me. We can have a chat with our friend if +you want it, but he's safer within four walls."</p> + +<p>We assisted Mr. Jean Vossche into the cab and got in with him. +The Inspector gave the cabman the address of the nearest +police-station, and Dorcas walked on.</p> + +<p>Ten minutes later Inspector Carr had explained the situation to +the officer on duty at the police-station, and Mr. Jean Vossche, +still manacled, was accommodated with a chair in the Inspector's +office, into which presently Dorcas Dene was introduced.</p> + +<p>Her first request was that the man might be taken outside for the +present. Two constables were called in and the prisoner removed.</p> + +<p>"Now, Mr. Carr," said Dorcas, "you've got to decide what we are +going to do at once. So far my theory, that the disappearance of the +Prince was connected with the approaching execution of five Anarchists +in ——, has been borne out to the letter."</p> + +<p>"Absolutely," replied the detective. "But having found that out +my duty is to inform my chief. The whole of these men may be +captured."</p> + +<p>"Quite so—but that won't give the Prince his freedom. As +these men were all at the meeting it is certain that they are none +of them responsible for the safe keeping of the prisoner."</p> + +<p>"That's true."</p> + +<p>"Therefore by arresting them you only make the Prince's situation +graver. You must bear in mind that he is held as an hostage. He is +to be liberated on condition the Anarchists of —— are +spared. The wretches who have him in their power are not likely to +be more merciful to him because instead of five Anarchists being +spared four more have been arrested. You could have got Vossche at +any time. The only reason for seizing him to-night is to prevent him +alarming the others."</p> + +<p>"And I've given my oath to Vossche's wife that for her information +her husband shall be allowed to get off."</p> + +<p>"That I presume the authorities can easily arrange. There are +plenty of Anarchists and Fenians who are supposed to be at present in +her Majesty's gaols, who have been pardoned and are enjoying their +liberty—the price of their valuable information—in the +colonies."</p> + +<p>"Yes—of course that can be arranged in Vossche's case if +we save the Prince through his wife's information. But what I want +to know now is—now that we have ascertained that you were +right, and the Prince has been captured by the foreign Anarchists +in London, where are we going to find the captive? Vossche won't +tell us."</p> + +<p>"No. I told you if the Anarchists had the Prince we would find +him by to-morrow, and I didn't count then on getting the information +from Vossche or any of them. But Vossche may be useful in saving us +time, and every hour is of vital importance now."</p> + +<p>"What can he do?"</p> + +<p>"Guide us to the place where the Prince is concealed."</p> + +<p>"He won't, I tell you, I know his character."</p> + +<p>"He won't do it willingly, perhaps, but will you let me try an +experiment?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly."</p> + +<p>"Then go out now and search the prisoner and see if he has any +money about him."</p> + +<p>"And if he has, I'm to take it?"</p> + +<p>"No—leave it in his possession."</p> + +<p>The Inspector, with a puzzled look on his face, went out to obey +Dorcas's directions. I turned to her eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Do you really think you know where the Prince is concealed?" +I said.</p> + +<p>"I have a very strong idea. Now Vossche has been arrested he may +confirm it. That will assist us to concentrate all our efforts in +one direction."</p> + +<p>"You know a good deal about the Prince, I suppose?—or you +have been making inquiries to-day?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know very much, but what I do know suggests very strongly +a clue to the means by which the Prince was secured. In the first +place," said Dorcas, "when Inspector Carr brought me all the +information he possessed I saw at once that it would have been almost +impossible for rough, suspicious-looking foreigners like those +Anarchists to have seized the Prince in the public +thoroughfares—even at night. He would not have ventured alone +into by-ways and alleys where such a thing was possible. It was +evident that he was going out with a definite object, and that object +was not merely to stroll through the streets. Had it been that, he +would have been accompanied by one of his suite, or if he had gone +alone he would have kept to thoroughfares where his capture would +certainly have attracted attention. A number of ruffians seizing a +gentleman in evening dress and dragging him away would have been +noticed. If he had been hustled into a cab the police would have +found the cabman by this. Therefore the conclusion is that he went +out with the intention of going somewhere, and he did not want his +suite to know where that somewhere was."</p> + +<p>"You mean that, wherever he is, he was 'lured' there?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly—and for a Prince to be lured into a trap the +lurer must be someone with whom he had a previous acquaintance. A +Prince would not accept an invitation from a stranger to meet her +or to call upon her late at night."</p> + +<p>"<em>Her</em>—you think there is a petticoat in the case?"</p> + +<p>"I am certain there is. Now look at the facts we have to go upon. +It is only reasonable to assume that the Prince went willingly and +unsuspectingly at the invitation of a lady to call upon her late in +the evening. It is certain that he is in the power of a number of +foreign Anarchists in London. The task then is to establish a link +between a lady who could induce the Prince to come out alone at night +and the men who through her action were able to keep him a prisoner, +and make his captivity a means to secure the reprieve of the condemned +Anarchists of ——."</p> + +<p>"And there is such a woman?"</p> + +<p>"Let us see. A month ago a mysterious paragraph went the round of +the London Press. A lady had been to a theatre, and had lost in the +stalls—or thought she lost there—a magnificent diamond +ornament.</p> + +<p>"The loss was advertised, and a description of the jewel given. A +few days later a mysterious paragraph appeared in the papers to the +effect that a well-known pawnbroker had read the advertisement, and +announced that the jewel was in his possession. He had at once +communicated with the lady, and had returned the jewel to her.</p> + +<p>"Next day the manager of the theatre, considering that the +paragraph was a reflection on his staff, called upon the lady, with +the result that a further mysterious paragraph went the round of the +Press. It was to the effect that the lady had been mistaken in +supposing that she lost her jewel in the theatre. It had evidently +been stolen from her while she was getting into her carriage, and +the thieves had succeeded in getting it pawned by a woman who stated +that she was lady's-maid to the owner, gave the owner's correct +address, and pawned it in the ordinary way, but in the lady's name.</p> + +<p>"The story interested me, and knowing the pawnbroker, I called +upon him and found that the jewel was the property of a Countess +Elstein, and he had the more readily accepted it from the lady's-maid, +as it bore an inscription which showed that it had formerly been in +the possession of a lady of the Royal house of ——, and the +pawnbroker—who, of course, had frequent dealings with the +aristocracy—knew that the Countess Elstein had been the +morganatic wife of Prince —— of ——. There was +considerable scandal when the Prince married the sister of the Queen +of ——, and his connection with the Countess was hinted +at in several of the Society papers.</p> + +<p>"I made inquiries, and found that the Countess had been in London +for some weeks, and was living in a house in the Inner Circle, +Regent's Park, a house standing in its own grounds, which she had +taken furnished for a period from the owner, who had gone abroad for +some time, having a wife in delicate health."</p> + +<p>"And you really believe that it was the Countess Elstein—the +Prince's morganatic wife—who induced him to visit her last +evening, and that the invitation was a trap? What would a lady like +that be doing in an Anarchist conspiracy?"</p> + +<p>"Let me finish," said Dorcas. "The moment the ornament was +recovered from the pawnbroker, no further notice was taken. I +ascertained from the police that the pawnbroker had not given them +any information as to the person who pawned it. He had been +compensated by the Countess, and she had personally requested that +nothing further should be done in the matter, as to bring the case +into court would necessitate the story of the bracelet being told. +She did not wish the gift of his Royal Highness Prince —— +of —— to his morganatic and now discarded wife to figure +in the police reports. You know that I like to investigate these +little Society mysteries—they keep my hand in, and one never +knows when the facts may be useful. I found that the Countess +undoubtedly took the jewel with her to the theatre. It was fastened +on to her arm by her maid, a Frenchwoman, and I at once jumped to +the conclusion that the Frenchwoman was in the robbery—that +she had given information of her mistress's ornament, and certain +particulars which had helped the thieves to get possession of it. For +all we know, the thief might have occupied the next stall, and +followed the Countess out in the crowd. But the Countess did not +suspect her maid, or she would have discharged her, I suppose. The +maid's name is Zelie Vossche."</p> + +<p>"Vossche!—why, that is the name of the Anarchist here now!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, Zelie Vossche, who is maid to the Prince of ——'s +morganatic wife, is sister to Jean Vossche, one of the Anarchists who +hold the Prince as hostage for the safety of the condemned Anarchists +of ——."</p> + +<p>"That certainly establishes a link," I exclaimed, "but there is +one thing I don't see yet. I can understand you connecting the +Prince's mysterious absence from his hotel with the Countess Elstein, +but why did that suggest to you that there might be an Anarchist plot +at the bottom of the whole thing?"</p> + +<p>"That came about from the conversation I had with Inspector Carr +this morning. He had a theory that the Prince was engaged in some +affair of gallantry, and I at once told him that if there was a lady +in the case it was probably the Countess. Then I told him the story +of the diamond bracelet, and that I suspected the robbery had been +'put up' by the maid, Zelie Vossche.</p> + +<p>"He was startled at the name, and at once told me that a Jean +Vossche was one of a group of Anarchists at present in London about +whom the police were uneasy, as they appeared to be meditating some +big coup. That there was a Vossche resident in the house of the +Prince's morganatic wife, and a Vossche a dangerous Anarchist, at +once caused me to connect the Prince's disappearance with an +Anarchist plot, and I remember that the papers had reported that the +Anarchists of Europe had forwarded several threatening letters to +the authorities in —— in connection with the approaching +executions there. Then the Inspector told me that he could, he +thought, get at Vossche's wife, and find out at least what Vossche +was doing if he approached her with an offer which would be to her +husband's benefit. I determined that we would at once follow the +clue in that direction as far as we could, and I think you will +acknowledge that events have so far quite justified my plan of +action."</p> + +<p>"Indeed they have," I replied, "and in a most remarkable manner. +But here comes the Inspector."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Dorcas, turning to the detective, "what have you +found on Vossche?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing that will be useful to us. He has no papers at all, and +he refuses to say anything."</p> + +<p>"Any money?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, he has three sovereigns in his waistcoat and about twelve +shillings in loose silver in his pocket."</p> + +<p>"Where you left them, I hope?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—as you wished it."</p> + +<p>"Very well then. Can you drive?"</p> + +<p>"Drive? Yes, I can—but whatever do you want to know that +for?"</p> + +<p>"Send out and get a hansom cab to the door. The police will +satisfy the man it is all right. You must put on his coat and badge, +get an old hat—there's sure to be one here that will come down +well over your forehead—turn up your coat collar, get up on the +box, and drive a little way away. There are no cabs in this +neighbourhood at this time of night, so you'll have to send to the +stand, which is a quarter of a mile away, for one. Let them bring +a hansom or four-wheeler—it doesn't matter which. Send at +once."</p> + +<p>The Inspector went out and instructed the officer in charge, and +presently returned and said a cab had been sent for.</p> + +<p>"Very well—the police must requisition it for you when it +comes. They will undertake to let the driver have his cab again +to-morrow morning, and you'll pay him liberally for taking his place +on the box."</p> + +<p>"But what am I to drive a cab for? We've got our own man outside."</p> + +<p>"Yes, but Mr. Saxon and I are going to take him."</p> + +<p>"Then what am I to drive an empty cab for?"</p> + +<p>"It won't be empty, I hope. If it is you must come all the same, +but I am hoping that you will have Vossche inside."</p> + +<p>"Vossche?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—after he has escaped from here——"</p> + +<p>"Escaped!—Vossche!"</p> + +<p>"Yes—if he sees an empty hansom he is pretty certain to hail +it and jump in, in case he should be pursued."</p> + +<p>"Vossche is to escape and I'm to drive him away in a cab?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. If he gets in—and I'm pretty sure he will—it +will be his best means of eluding pursuit—he'll tell you to +drive somewhere. He will be in a desperate hurry to get to the people +who have the Prince in their care. He'll want to let them know that +the police are at work in the right direction and put them on thei + guard. When he gets in if he only says 'Drive on,' you must say 'How +far?' Get his destination out of him on some excuse or other."</p> + +<p>"And take him to it?"</p> + +<p>"No—go a little way and then say your horse is lame. Turn +him out as far from a cab-stand as you possibly can, then drive on +to us—we'll wait at the corner of the Westminster Bridge-road."</p> + +<p>"And then?"</p> + +<p>"And then we'll go on to the Inner Circle, Regent's Park, and get +into the Countess of Elstein's house."</p> + +<p>"We shall want help, if we're to do that."</p> + +<p>"You can put as many police in the front as you can get together, +but we're going to climb over the park railings and get in the back +way. Now let's arrange for Vossche to escape. Call me the chief +here."</p> + +<p>The officer in charge of the station came in and Inspector Carr +made a clean breast of as much as he wanted to tell. The officer +hesitated at the idea of the escape.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the Inspector, "after all he isn't charged, is he? +You are only minding him for me, and I'll promise he won't get away. +He's going in my cab."</p> + +<p>The officer opened his eyes with astonishment. "This is a very +daring idea," he said.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the Inspector, "but it's Dorcas Dene's, and I think +it will be the means of our making sure of the whereabouts of the +Prince."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said the officer. "Of course you take all +responsibility—the case is yours, not mine. How is the escape +to be arranged?"</p> + +<p>The Inspector looked at Dorcas.</p> + +<p>"After we have gone," she said, "and Mr. Carr has got possession +of the cab and put on the driver's coat and badge, have the prisoner +brought in as though you were going to examine him. Remove his +handcuffs previously in the cell. A constable will guard him and +one will stand in the doorway.</p> + +<p>"Suddenly you can pretend to fall ill, stagger and fall into the +constable's arms who is by the prisoner. Probably the man at the +door will rush to your assistance. Vossche is certain to see his +chance and make a desperate effort to bolt. He will be strong enough +to overpower the constable even if he has not left the door to run +to your assistance. You must clutch at the officers in your fit and +hinder them for a minute. By that time the man will be out and into +the cab which will be at hand."</p> + +<p>The officer hesitated. "It will be playing a comedy. I never +heard of such a proposition, and I don't think I ought to be a party +to it."</p> + +<p>"You really must help us in this," exclaimed Dorcas, earnestly. +"I am sure if you do, and we discover the Prince, that Inspector +Carr will gladly testify to the admirable manner in which his efforts +were seconded by you. And if Prince —— of —— +has any sense of gratitude, he will, when he hears the story, present +you with a diamond pin. Remember this case is <em>not</em> going into +the newspapers, and 'our Special Crime Investigator' will never have +even the tip of his little finger in the pie. The instructions from +the Chief Commissioner are that the most perfect silence is to be +maintained on the subject by all officers engaged in the search. +Even the people at the Prince's hotel have been informed by his suite +that his Royal Highness is gone into the country."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said the officer, after a few minutes' reflection, +"I'll do it."</p> + +<p>A constable came in to say that a hansom had been secured.</p> + +<p>Dorcas wished the officer good-night, and shook hands with him, +and we went out to our four-wheeler, leaving Inspector Carr and the +local officer together.</p> + +<p>When we got to Westminster Bridge-road we pulled up and waited.</p> + +<p>Ten minutes later we heard a hansom tearing along at a furious +rate.</p> + +<p>"There's no one in the cab," said Dorcas, looking into the vehicle +as it hove in sight. "Carr's got rid of him."</p> + +<p>At that moment the vehicle came full into the light of the +street lamp.</p> + +<p>Dorcas looked up at the box seat and uttered a cry of terror.</p> + +<p>One glance was sufficient to tell me the cause of her dismay.</p> + +<p>The man who was driving the hansom so furiously that the few +stragglers who were about in the street shouted out that it was a +runaway was not Inspector Carr.</p> + +<p><em>It was Jean Vossche, the Anarchist!</em></p> + +<h3 style="text-align:center;" id="C3">III. THE HOUSE IN REGENT'S PARK</h3> + +<p>When the hansom which should have been driven by Inspector Carr, +and should have had Jean Vossche inside, dashed past us empty and +with Jean Vossche, the Anarchist, driving furiously, Dorcas Dene +stood for a moment dumbfounded.</p> + +<p>"Something must have happened to Carr," I exclaimed. "Vossche +could only have got possession of the cab after a struggle."</p> + +<p>"No," said Dorcas, "I don't imagine there has been a struggle. +You forget Carr carried a loaded revolver and Vossche was searched +at the station. It is possible that an accident happened. Vossche +got possession of the cab and drove off because he is in a desperate +hurry to warn his accomplices that they were watched to their +meeting-place to-night."</p> + +<p>"And if he succeeds in warning them?"</p> + +<p>"The first thing they will do will be to prevent all possible +means of rescuing the Prince. And they can do that in a moment."</p> + +<p>"How?"</p> + +<p>"By killing him."</p> + +<p>"Why should they do that? Dead, he ceases to be a hostage, and in +sacrificing him they sacrifice the last hope of saving the lives of +the condemned men."</p> + +<p>"They can kill him and conceal the body so that his fate may +remain uncertain. The —— Government are certain to +reprieve the prisoners in the hope of saving the Prince's life."</p> + +<p>"Then they may have killed him already—he may have been +murdered the night of his disappearance."</p> + +<p>"No—they would hesitate to do that, because it <em>might</em> +have been found out, and then their last card would have been played. +But now they are desperate. They will guess that they are suspected +of being concerned in his Royal Highness's disappearance. +Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and to save their own +skins they will sacrifice even their comrades. I have made up my mind +what to do. Come—we must be going."</p> + +<p>"What about Carr?—are we going to leave him to his fate?"</p> + +<p>"We cannot help him. If he is injured he will have been found by +passers-by or the police and attended to by now."</p> + +<p>"Then where are we going?"</p> + +<p>"To Scotland Yard."</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>As the cab drove rapidly towards the famous detective establishment +on the Embankment, Dorcas explained her motive for no longer acting on +her own responsibility. So long as she was with Carr she was assisting +a properly-authorised police officer to investigate a sensational +affair. But Carr being absent—probably disabled, possibly +insensible—she was no longer justified in taking any further +steps in the matter. It was her duty to communicate her knowledge to +the properly-constituted authorities.</p> + +<p>When Dorcas arrived at the Yard and sent her name to the chief +officer on duty, she was instantly admitted. Beckoning me to follow +her, she proceeded along a passage, and we were ushered into the +presence of a handsome, smooth-shaven gentleman with a small grey +moustache.</p> + +<p>This gentleman rose as we entered and greeted Dorcas with a polite +bow. Directly she said that she had called to give information with +respect to the missing Prince, his official manner vanished and he +leant forward to listen.</p> + +<p>"My chief is with the Home Secretary at this very minute," he said. +"Up to the present we have not the slightest clue. What is your +information?"</p> + +<p>Dorcas related rapidly the events of the evening, and, as she +proceeded, the pleasant face of the official became grave and +anxious.</p> + +<p>"We knew of these men, of course," he said, "but we never for a +moment connected his Royal Highness's disappearance with them. Their +arrest ought to be a mere matter of hours, for we know where to lay +hands on every Anarchist in England. But their arrest would only +retard rather than hasten the rescue of their prisoner. We don't +know where they have concealed him."</p> + +<p>"At any rate there is someone who does."</p> + +<p>"Who is that?"</p> + +<p>"The Countess Elstein. I am convinced that it was to the Countess's +that the Prince went that night."</p> + +<p>"We had an idea ourselves that the Countess must know something," +replied the officer, "but on inquiring at her residence we were +informed that she had left London for the Continent the previous day. +The maid, a French-woman, was to follow her, so she told our man, and +join her mistress in Vienna in a week's time."</p> + +<p>"Didn't you think it curious then," said Dorcas, "that the Countess +should have gone abroad and left her maid behind?"</p> + +<p>"There was really nothing to think about in the matter. All that we +expected of the Countess was that she <em>might</em> know something of +the Prince's movements, but she certainly would be no party to any +evil befalling him or any scandal arising in connection with him and +herself. She receives a handsome allowance from the Prince, and she is +hardly likely to have done anything which would imperil that."</p> + +<p>"Well," said Dorcas, "you may be right, but the name of the +Countess's maid is Zelie Vossche. She may have communicated to her +brother that the Prince was coming. If I am right in my theory, the +capture was effected in the Countess's house."</p> + +<p>"It might have been outside."</p> + +<p>"Hardly; had it been outside your men must by this time have found +a clue. His captors wouldn't have dragged him from Regent's Park +without being observed by someone."</p> + +<p>"But if it was in the house the capture took place the servants +must have known it."</p> + +<p>"I don't think so. The Prince's visit would be arranged for under +any circumstances—the servants would be purposely kept out of +the way. Zelie, the maid, who is evidently in her mistress's +confidence, probably for a good reason, seeing that that affair of +the bracelet was not proceeded with—would let him in."</p> + +<p>"But the Countess——"</p> + +<p>"There I am in doubt," said Dorcas. "She may have been a party to +the outrage—she may have known nothing about it. But I am +convinced that the Prince entered that house and never left it."</p> + +<p>"But, good heavens! if that has been your idea, why did you not +communicate with us at once?"</p> + +<p>"You forget," said Dorcas, quietly, "it was not until after the +Anarchist meeting in Kennington Road to-night that I had any +certainty that my theory was correct."</p> + +<p>The official touched a bell and a constable entered.</p> + +<p>"Ask Superintendent Johnson to come to me at once."</p> + +<p>The constable saluted and retired.</p> + +<p>"What do you propose to do?" said Dorcas.</p> + +<p>"Send Superintendent Johnson with a number of men at once to the +Countess's residence."</p> + +<p>Dorcas laid her hand gently on his arm.</p> + +<p>"Of course it is presumption on my part, but may I give you a +word of advice?"</p> + +<p>"I shall listen to anything you say with the greatest respect, +because it seems to me that so far you have done more than all our +people put together in getting on the right trail—though of +course I feel strongly that you ought to have communicated with us +before this. What is your advice?"</p> + +<p>"That you don't send Superintendent Johnson and his men to +<em>alarm</em> the Countess. Remember that one false movement may +result in the assassination of the Prince."</p> + +<p>"That is true—but we <em>must</em> satisfy ourselves that +the Prince is or is not there."</p> + +<p>"Of course. My own intention, had Inspector Carr remained with +me, was to go to the Countess's house at once. But we should have +gone cautiously to work to avoid a mishap."</p> + +<p>"One can be too cautious in a desperate affair like this. Even as +it is, this man Vossche has had time to communicate with the Prince's +captors. If his Royal Highness is a prisoner in the Regent's Park +house, he may already have been conveyed away."</p> + +<p>"If he has I shall know it!"</p> + +<p>"<em>You</em> will know it—how?"</p> + +<p>"Directly I heard from Inspector Carr of the Prince's +disappearance, and came to the conclusion that the Countess Elstein +might have been the instrument employed to get him into a trap, I +put two of my assistants whom I can trust—they are both retired +police officers—on the case. One has been watching the entrance +in the Inner Circle, and the other is concealed in the Park watching +the grounds."</p> + +<p>"That was well done at any rate. But now we must get inside the +house."</p> + +<p>"I quite agree with you. But there are two ways of doing it. Will +you let the Superintendent and his men go to work <em>my</em> way?"</p> + +<p>The officer hesitated. "It isn't usual," he said, "for our men to +act under the orders of a private detective, even one so famous and +so talented as Dorcas Dene, but under <em>all</em> the circumstances +I consent. Up to a certain point Johnson will obey your instructions. +But if he finds that they do not look like resulting in immediate +success, then he will obey mine."</p> + +<p>"I accept the terms," replied Dorcas, rising. Then she added, "I +presume there is no objection to my friend here accompanying us. He +is my husband's personal friend and my own, and has frequently +rendered me valuable assistance."</p> + +<p>The official eyed me over as if mentally appraising my value, and +then with a patronising little nod exclaimed, "Oh, certainly if you +wish it—but I presume he is not a newspaper man? Whatever +happens we don't want this affair to be chattered about by the +Press."</p> + +<p>I assured the official that he might rely on my absolute +discretion, and that I quite understood the necessity of silence, +and a minute later Superintendent Johnson entered the room.</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>Jean Vossche <em>had</em> entered the house of Countess Elstein +in the Inner Circle of Regent's Park.</p> + +<p>Dorcas's man had seen a man answering Vossche's description come +up and enter the grounds about half an hour previously. He was +walking.</p> + +<p>The cab left alone would have attracted attention. Vossche had +driven on to the cab-stand at Clarence Gate, which at that hour of +the morning was only occupied by a couple of four-wheelers, the +drivers of which were inside fast asleep. A hansom standing by itself +on the rank would not excite the slightest suspicion.</p> + +<p>Dorcas, when she heard how the desperado had disposed of his +vehicle, murmured, "My compliments!—that man knows what he +is about!"</p> + +<p>Superintendent Johnson proved himself to be a tactician of the +first water. He readily fell in with Dorcas's suggestions, but +managed to add one or two of his own which Dorcas, not to be outdone +in amiability, readily acquiesced in. She did so the more willingly +as the Superintendent's suggestions were generally those which Dorcas +had made a minute or two earlier. Dorcas explained her idea +rapidly.</p> + +<p>"The Inner Circle is deserted, and my men can get over the gate," +said the Superintendent, "and in among the laurels ready for +a signal."</p> + +<p>"I am afraid of that," said Dorcas. "There is gravel in the front +garden, and a gravel scrunch might be heard. Remember, Vossche is +inside, and the front may be watched. My proposition is that we get +in at the back."</p> + +<p>The Superintendent said nothing for a moment. Then suddenly as if +struck by an idea he exclaimed, "I propose that we get in at the +back. Don't you think it will be safer? They won't expect anybody +that way because the back runs down to the ornamental waters and the +Park is closed."</p> + +<p>"An excellent idea," replied Dorcas, nudging my arm. "Leave a few +of your men under the trees on the opposite side of the +roadway—ready to dash in at your signal."</p> + +<p>"Yes, when I blow my whistle they can rush in at the front garden."</p> + +<p>"I shouldn't whistle," said Dorcas. "We might want to surprise the +inmates before they can escape. It's a dark night and they might some +of them get away. I should imitate the noise of a cat. That would mean +nothing except to those who were waiting for the sound."</p> + +<p>The Superintendent probably thought that for a man in his position +it would be undignified to moe-row, for he made no reply. But a minute +later he said to Dorcas, "I've given my men their instructions. My +signal to them will be the bark of a dog—I think it will be +safer than whistling, don't you?"</p> + +<p>"An admirable idea!" replied Dorcas. "Now let us go round to the +Outer Circle. We can get into the Park by climbing over the rails."</p> + +<p>"But to get into the grounds we must cross the water."</p> + +<p>"No—we can get over the bridge and climb over the iron +rails on the other side."</p> + +<p>Dorcas, myself, the Superintendent, and two men made our way +rapidly over the bridge opposite the Botanical Gardens and then +climbed over into the private enclosure by York Gate and so went +into the vast deserted Park.</p> + +<p>Crossing the bridge that spans the ornamental water we made our +way along the water's edge until we reached the private grounds of +the villa occupied by the Countess. The grounds sloped to the edge +of the water and were not in any way protected, as they could only +be approached from the lake. No one could enter them by day without +attracting the attention of the park-keepers, and at night the Park +was carefully cleared, so there was practically no danger of +intrusion.</p> + +<p>As we crept cautiously through the high laurels, choosing a path +that was out of sight of the house in case there should be anyone +watching, Dorcas suddenly halted and "quacked." There were scores of +ducks asleep upon the island on the lake. But she quacked in a +peculiar manner—two quacks, then one quack—then two, +then one.</p> + +<p>Across the grounds from a laurel bush near a summer house came a +low "quack, quack."</p> + +<p>"What's that?" exclaimed the Superintendent.</p> + +<p>"My signal. My man is over yonder—he'll make his way to +us—let us stop here."</p> + +<p>Our strained ears caught the rustle of the bushes, and presently +a man emerged from the laurels in front of us and came to Dorcas.</p> + +<p>"No one's been about all night," he said, "till about a quarter of +an hour ago, when a man came out, went to the shed yonder by the +water, and got a boat hook. He went to the water's edge, and tried +the depth, and then went back into the house again."</p> + +<p>Dorcas gave a little cry which she instantly suppressed.</p> + +<p>"What do you think that means?" said the Superintendent.</p> + +<p>"The worst, I'm afraid," said Dorcas. "It looks as though they +were going to drop something into the water that they wanted to +conceal. We must hesitate no longer. Your men must break in from the +front, and we must try from the back. Hush!"</p> + +<p>There was a sound of a door opening.</p> + +<p>We peered through the laurel bushes, and saw two figures coming +slowly across the grounds. They were carrying a heavy burden between +them.</p> + +<p>"Make a dash for the door," said the Superintendent to Dorcas's +man. "Rush through and open the front door if you can, and let my men +in. Are you armed?"</p> + +<p>"I have my revolver," replied the man.</p> + +<p>As the figures came nearer our man dashed out. There was a cry, +and the burden dropped. But our man had dashed in at the open door. +At the same time Superintendent Johnson's whistle shrieked out on +the quiet night.</p> + +<p>Then we all dashed forward—the Superintendent and one of +his men seized one of the figures, and I and another man seized the +other.</p> + +<p>Dorcas snatched a bull's-eye from one of the officers, and flashed +it in the faces of the prisoners.</p> + +<p>We had captured Jean Vossche and his sister, the lady's maid.</p> + +<p>In a moment there were dark figures hurrying across the lawn. The +police in front had come through. Handing the prisoners over to them, +the Superintendent knelt down, and then examined the lifeless body +lying on the ground.</p> + +<p>It was a female. Round her body was a stout cord, and attached to +the cord two heavy weights.</p> + +<p>The Superintendent examined the woman's face by the light of the +lantern. On the temple was a fearful bruise, as though the poor +creature had been struck by a bludgeon.</p> + +<p>Dorcas, with trembling lips, knelt down beside the body, and as +the light fell on the features, examined them carefully.</p> + +<p>"It is the Countess Elstein!" she said.</p> + +<p>At that moment the officers who had Jean Vossche uttered a cry.</p> + +<p>The man, with a desperate effort, had wrenched himself free. +Before he could be seized again he had dashed across the grounds, +leapt the iron railings, and disappeared into the darkness of the +Park.</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>Leaving the police in charge of Zelie and the body, we went into +the house, which was in possession of some of the Superintendent's +men. A sergeant met us at the door.</p> + +<p>"There's a gentleman in one of the rooms," he said. "I can't make +him out at all."</p> + +<p>We followed the officer upstairs to a back room. There we found a +dark gentleman lying on a sofa. His legs and hands were fastened +together with cords, and he seemed to be in a heavy sleep. We tried +to rouse him, but he only opened his eyes and looked at us, and then +his head dropped down again.</p> + +<p>"It's the Prince—thank God!" exclaimed the Superintendent. +"He's under the influence of some drug, I should think."</p> + +<p>"Probably," said Dorcas, "that's how they've kept him quiet. Send +one of your men for a doctor."</p> + +<p>We tried our best to restore the Prince to consciousness, but +failed. When the doctor, who had been fetched from Baker-street, came, +he at once found it to be a case of drugging, and said the Prince had +probably been kept under the influence of a strong narcotic for some +time. He had brought certain remedies with him, acting on the +information the police officer who fetched him had given him, and +gradually the Prince came to himself. A couple of hours later a +brougham arrived with the Chief of Police and the Prince's +aide-de-camp, and his Royal Highness was quietly taken to the +doctor's house, and Zelie Vossche, who remained obstinately silent, +was removed in custody.</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>His Royal Highness Prince —— of —— was +able next day to communicate his adventures to the authorities.</p> + +<p>He had arranged to visit the Countess, his morganatic wife, the +evening he left the hotel. There were certain matters he wished to +discuss with her, but he was anxious that their meeting should be a +private one. Zelie Vossche had probably obtained knowledge of the +intended interview, and had communicated it to her brother, who saw +in it an opportunity of assisting the condemned Anarchists of +——. He communicated with his associates.</p> + +<p>When the Prince arrived at the house in Regent's Park late at night +the servants had been sent away to a house the Countess had in the +country. The Countess was leaving for this house next day, and Zelie +advised her to send them on first: then they would not see and gossip +about the visit of the Prince, as they might find out who he was.</p> + +<p>Zelie and the Countess were alone when the Prince arrived. But +after Zelie had let him in she admitted Vossche and two of his +accomplices. They waited till the Prince was leaving, then seized and +gagged him and carried him to the upstairs room. The Countess rushed +out, hearing the noise, but was struck down by Vossche. When it was +found she was dead they carried the body to a bedroom, laid it on the +bed, and locked the door.</p> + +<p>The next morning Zelie telegraphed to the servants that their +mistress was going to pay a visit and would not arrive till the end +of the week.</p> + +<p>The Prince in the meantime was drugged to keep him from attempting +to make a noise. He was fed and tended by Vossche and Zelie, as it +was not the Anarchists' intention that he should be assassinated if +they saved the lives of their comrades.</p> + +<p>But when Vossche discovered that a Scotland Yard man was on his +track and that probably he would be traced to the house in Regent's +Park, his first task on escaping was to get rid of the Countess's +body. What the Prince's fate would have been could only be +conjectured.</p> + +<p>Vossche and Zelie after disposing of the Countess's body would +probably have made their escape, hoping that a desire to conceal the +adventure of the Prince might lead the police to make no active +search for them.</p> + +<p>The story of the murder was gathered from Zelie herself, who was +naturally anxious to prove that she had no active share in the +crime, but only acted to shield her brother and his accomplices +afterwards.</p> + +<p>Accepting her story as true the authorities at the inquest put +her name forward as that of an accomplice, and supported her +statement that Vossche was the actual murderer.</p> + +<p>They did this not only because they were inclined to believe it, +but as an encouragement to Zelie not to make any statement with +regard to the share which the Prince had played in the tragedy. The +motive of the crime was supposed to be robbery.</p> + +<p>A reward for the arrest of Jean Vossche was offered but never +claimed. The Continental Police acting on instructions were as remiss +as our own in endeavouring to discover the whereabouts of the +notorious Anarchist.</p> + +<p>As soon as he was restored to health the Prince returned to his +father's court, much to the relief of everybody concerned, especially +the heads of the Royal Family of ——, who were saved the +unpleasant task of rescuing from the scaffold five of the most +infamous scoundrels of modern times.</p> + +<p>Inspector Carr is a disappointed man. After all his exertions he +was unable to crown himself with the glory of having found and rescued +the missing Prince. Had he been a better coachman all might have been +well, but in his joy at having Jean Vossche for a fare he forgot about +his horse and drove into a market wagon, the driver of which was fast +asleep. He was pitched off the box into the roadway and lay there +stunned. Jean Vossche, anxious to get on, leaped out and bent over the +insensible man. Possibly he discovered then the trick which had been +played on him. At any rate, jumping on to the box, he drove off at +full speed. When the Inspector came to himself he found that he had +been very kindly taken to St. Thomas's Hospital by a policeman who +thought he was a cabman whose horse had bolted.</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>Dorcas Dene has a beautiful diamond brooch which she never wears. +It is the gift of his Royal Highness Prince —— of +—— who somehow came to hear of the important part she +had played in his rescue.</p> + +<p>The one great drawback to her joy in possessing it is that poor +Paul cannot see how beautiful it is. But sometimes when she holds +it in the light he stares at it with his poor sightless eyes and +declares that really the stones must be <em>very</em> brilliant, +for it doesn't seem <em>quite</em> so dark when she holds them up +before him.</p> + +<h3 style="text-align:center;" id="C4">IV. THE CO-RESPONDENT</h3> + +<p>I had gone down for a week's rest to Brighton, and had put up at +the "Old Ship." The "Old Ship," Brighton, has been to me "a home from +home" for more years than I care to count. Among my most pleasant +recollections of my youth is the smiling face of that fine old +English host, "Mr. Arthur," brother of the proprietor, Mr. Robert +Bacon. All Brighton lovers who "have come to forty year" remember +Mr. Arthur, and still on quiet evenings when old Brightonians gather +together in the famous hostelry it is rare indeed that the name of +Mr. Arthur does not come up in the conversation. What Mr. Gresham +Bacon is to the young Old Shipites to-day, Mr. Arthur was to the +middle-aged Old Shipites of twenty years ago.</p> + +<p>Mr. Arthur's name came up on the occasion of the visit to which +I have referred at the commencement of this narrative. There had +been an unusual number of ladies in the coffee-room, and after +dinner, noticing Mr. Gresham Bacon in the hall, I could not help +remarking on the fact.</p> + +<p>In the former days the "Old Ship" rather discouraged lady visitors, +and so they were not admitted to the coffee-room, and there was no +ladies' drawing-room. The house was essentially a bachelors' resort, +and if a man brought his wife he had to take a private sitting-room +for her and to keep her there.</p> + +<p>"Ladies in the coffee-room, a French table d'hôte and the +electric light at the 'Old Ship'!" I exclaimed. "It's enough to make +'Mr. Arthur' turn in his grave."</p> + +<p>Gresham Bacon laughed.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said, "if anyone had suggested ladies in the coffee-room +in his day the dear old boy would have had a fit. But other times, +other manners, and the 'Old Ship' has had to be fitted out as a modern +vessel, and she must sail with the times."</p> + +<p>I put on my hat, Commodore Gibson, arrayed as befitted in the "Old +Ship" in blue serge, gilt buttons, and a yachting cap, gave me a brush +down, and as soon as Mr. "Fatty" Coleman, whose portly form completely +filled the doorway, had been temporarily dislodged, I passed out into +the street, and Gresham Bacon, who had followed me, invited me to come +and have my after-dinner coffee at his "arch."</p> + +<p>Everyone knows that the "arches" under the King's-road at Brighton +have been rented by private persons, and turned into luxurious +"smoking-rooms by the sea." Mr. Gresham Bacon's arch is renowned for +its hospitality, and one meets there in the season most of the +notabilities of Upper Bohemia, who still look upon Brighton as the +ideal spot for a jaded Londoner. Dr. Brighton is no quack, but he has +the courage to adopt as his motto, "Health restored while you wait," +and thousands of hard-working Englishmen and Englishwomen who suffer +from an occasional run-down of the nervous system have still a +child-like and beautiful faith in him. There is only one disadvantage +in the Brighton cure, if you are in search of quiet as well as health. +At Brighton you meet people you know all day long, and everybody wants +you to dine with him, or to drink with him, or to "go somewhere." A +man can have hundreds of friends and be as little disturbed by them +in London as if he were on a desert island. But in Brighton you meet +someone you know every minute of the day.</p> + +<p>I had not been half an hour in Gresham Bacon's arch before half a +dozen London men had dropped in whom I knew intimately, but whom I +rarely met at home because we were all Londoners.</p> + +<p>One of them, a dramatist of repute, had with him the only stranger +of the party. The stranger was introduced to us as Count von +Phalsdorf, and as soon as the name had been pronounced the dramatist, +with the instinct of his art strong upon him, looked round to see +what sort of an effect he had made.</p> + +<p>It was certainly a big one. As the dramatist slowly and distinctly +pronounced the name every man in the arch gave a little gasp, and the +eyes of the dramatist gleamed with a feverish delight.</p> + +<p>"I met the Count at my hotel," he said with a smile, "we became +friendly; he has heard a good deal of the Brighton arches, and I took +the liberty of bringing him with me to-night to show him yours, +Gresham."</p> + +<p>"Delighted, I'm sure," said Mr. Bacon, feeling that as the host +he must say something, but there was a hesitancy in his speech which +we all understood.</p> + +<p>The Count was a handsome man—in his uniform he must have +looked a perfectly military Adonis. In ordinary evening dress he was +far and away the most distinguished-looking person in our little +assembly. He spoke English fluently, and his manners were perfect. +But—well, it was a very big "but" indeed.</p> + +<p>The Law Courts had just given us one of those sensational scandals +in high life which are the delight of the evening newspapers and a +godsend to the gentlemen who make out the newspaper contents bills, +and to the headline merchants generally.</p> + +<p>An English gentleman bearing a name which has been an honourable +one in English history since the days of the Conquest had brought an +action for divorce against his wife, a lady of lineage equal to his +own, and had obtained a decree nisi. The lady had up to the time of +the proceedings been considered beyond reproach. When her husband +separated from her under circumstances which reflected upon himself, +there was universal sympathy for her. She had been everywhere +received in society as an injured lady, and it was a great shock to +all who knew her when, after some few years of separation, her +husband filed a petition for divorce, alleging unwifely conduct on +her part, and giving the name of the co-respondent.</p> + +<p>The case against the lady was certainly strong. The evidence of +the petitioner's witnesses could hardly leave any doubt in the minds +of the jury that the neglected wife had sought consolation and +companionship elsewhere. The husband had separated from his wife on +a question which involved no legal proceedings. It had been a mutual +agreement of incompatibility of temper, and it was generally +understood that the "temper" was all on the side of the husband. +He had left his wife and had gone to reside in the country.</p> + +<p>But now the roof had been lifted by the Asmodeus of the Law +Courts, and the husband was revealed as an injured man, whose honour +had been sacrificed to the wife's admiration for a handsome +foreigner.</p> + +<p>The co-respondent was called, and—this was the most +sensational part of the story—he had naturally, after the +manner of co-respondents from the earliest days of Divorce Courts, +solemnly protested his entire innocence. And then suddenly the +petitioner's counsel had handed him a letter and exclaimed in the +fierce tones of a cross-examining Old Bailey barrister, "Now, sir, +on your oath! Did you write that letter?" And the co-respondent +staring wildly in front of him, and gazing at the respondent, who was +seated with her mother at the solicitor's table, had, with a look of +mingled horror and pity in his eyes, faltered out "Yes."</p> + +<p>"Then," exclaimed the counsel, "I will read it to the jury." And +he read it, and its contents left no manner of doubt in the mind of +anyone that such a letter could not have been written by an innocent +man to an innocent woman.</p> + +<p>While the letter was being read the grey-haired mother almost +shrank from her daughter's side, and the daughter, her face white +and her lips trembling, uttered an hysterical cry and rose hurriedly, +and leant across and spoke to her counsel. The husband's counsel had +nothing more to ask the co-respondent. He was quite satisfied with +his admission that he wrote that letter. It carried the jury's +verdict with it.</p> + +<p>Then the wife's counsel rose and begged permission to put his +client in the box at once, and permission was granted him.</p> + +<p>Every eye was fixed on the lady as, trembling and almost +hysterical, she fell rather than walked into the witness-box.</p> + +<p>"You have heard that letter read?" said her counsel.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"On your oath, have you ever received such a letter?"</p> + +<p>"Never—as God is my judge. I have learnt the contents of +it for the first time now."</p> + +<p>"And is there any truth in the charges that have been made +against you?"</p> + +<p>"Not one word."</p> + +<p>"Have you ever received Count von Phalsdorf under your roof?"</p> + +<p>"Never."</p> + +<p>"Have you ever spoken to him?"</p> + +<p>"Frequently—but as one speaks to any gentleman to whom one +has been introduced."</p> + +<p>"You have heard the evidence of the hotel servants at Nice, of +your own maid, of the servants at your London residence. Do you deny +their statements?"</p> + +<p>"Absolutely, and on my oath."</p> + +<p>But the oath of the respondent availed nothing against the +evidence of the other side, which was about as conclusive as it +could possibly be, and the result of the trial was a decree nisi, +and the husband to have the custody of the children, one a girl of +fourteen and the other a boy of twelve.</p> + +<p>And the co-respondent in this remarkable case was the Count von +Phalsdorf, and all who had read the letter had made up their mind, +without being able to say exactly why, that the Count was an infernal +scoundrel in the first place to have so cruelly compromised such an +amiable and gentle lady, and an infernal fool in the second place to +have written such a dangerous and damning love-letter to a married +woman.</p> + +<p>And that is the reason that, with the details of the case fresh +in our memories, we all of us felt that the dramatist had been guilty +of an exceedingly unpleasant practical joke in introducing the Count +into the little friendly circle gathered together in Mr. Gresham +Bacon's arch.</p> + +<p>We felt it so much that we were so decidedly uncomfortable, the +laws of hospitality preventing us telling the Count what we thought +of him, that one by one we rose and remembered an appointment and +went, and when there was nobody left but the host, the dramatist rose +too, and with a grin that was meant to be a smile, bade Gresham +Bacon good-night, and took the Count away with him.</p> + +<p>It was about nine o'clock when we broke up, and having nothing to +do, I went into the Brighton Alhambra and spent the evening there. +It was half-past eleven when I returned to the "Old Ship."</p> + +<p>The night-porter opened the door to me, and seeing that I was +going towards the smoke-room came after me.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon, sir," he said, "but the waiter on your floor +asked me to be sure and tell you when you came in that there is a +letter in your sitting room waiting for you. The gentleman in No. 6 +gave it to him to give to you."</p> + +<p>"Oh," I said to myself. "The usual, I suppose. It's somebody who +wants to keep me up half the night playing poker. I shall have to +make an excuse."</p> + +<p>I went to my room and found a letter on my table. Directly I had +seen the handwriting on the envelope I uttered an exclamation of +surprise and opened it eagerly.</p> + +<p style="margin: 15px 0 15px 25px;">"Dear Mr. Saxon,—Paul and +I are staying here. Our sitting-room is No. 6. If you come in before +twelve and have nothing better to do, come in and see us.</p> + +<div style="margin: 1em 0; line-height: 1;"> + <div style="margin-left: 6em;">"Yours always,</div> + <div style="margin-left: 9em;">"Dorcas Dene.</div> +</div> + +<p>"Well, this is an unexpected pleasure!" I exclaimed, as I shook +hands with Paul and Dorcas. "Whatever are you doing at Brighton? +Having a few days' rest, I suppose."</p> + +<p>"I'm having the rest," said Paul, with a smile, "but Dorcas is +here on business."</p> + +<p>"On a case? Is it an interesting one?"</p> + +<p>"Very interesting," said Dorcas, "but a very unpleasant one in +many ways, and I'm not very confident about the result."</p> + +<p>"What is it? a murder—a robbery—or a mysterious +disappearance?"</p> + +<p>"No; this time it is a divorce."</p> + +<p>"A divorce! But I thought you never touched that branch of the +profession."</p> + +<p>"I don't as a rule, but in this case the circumstances are +peculiar, and I am deeply interested in one of the parties to +the suit."</p> + +<p>"The husband?"</p> + +<p>"No, the wife. You have read the case, I expect, because it has +been in all the papers. It is the one in which Count von Phalsdorf +was the co-respondent."</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" I exclaimed; "how singular! I've met the man +this evening. He's here in Brighton."</p> + +<p>"Of course—that is why I am here."</p> + +<p>"But I don't quite understand where you can come in as a detective +now. You're rather late, are you not, seeing that the case is +practically decided, for the judge has granted a decree nisi?"</p> + +<p>"Exactly—and nisi means 'unless'—which is, unless +before the expiration of six months certain facts should be brought +to the knowledge of the Court—or the Queen's Proctor I suppose +it would be—which would prevent the judge making the decree +absolute."</p> + +<p>"I don't know what the process is," I answered with a smile, +"because I have never been divorced, but after having read the +evidence in this case I can't for the life of me see what possible +chance you have of putting a different complexion on the affair."</p> + +<p>"Nor did I," said Dorcas, "when I was first consulted. The unhappy +lady came to me with her mother the day after the trial. Both were in +a state of the greatest excitement and distress. 'Mrs. Dene,' said +the old lady, 'my daughter is the victim of the wickedest lies that +were ever uttered in a court of justice. She is an absolutely innocent +woman. But everything is against her, and on the evidence taken I +confess myself the jury could have come to no other verdict. But they +have perjured themselves—the whole of my wicked son-in-law's +witnesses. We come to you as our last hope. We have heard how clever +you are. We have been told that if anyone can save my dear daughter +from the shame and infamy which she has no right to bear, it is you.'</p> + +<p>"I shook my head and explained that I never took up divorce +cases—I didn't think that they were a woman's work, and I +objected altogether to the methods employed by the detectives and +private enquiry agents who were usually associated with the +business.</p> + +<p>"The wife added her entreaties to her mother's. With tears in her +eyes she declared that unless her innocence could be proved she would +put an end to her existence. She could not live on under the +suspicion of guilt. She would never see her children again or look +into their innocent faces until this foul stain had been removed from +her name. 'Ah, madam!' she cried, her voice choked with hysterical +sobs, 'for my children's sake I ask you to help me. Think—think +of the heritage of shame which will be handed down to them if I +cannot prove that these horrible allegations against me are only a +fabric of lies built up by the perjured witnesses in my husband's +pay.'</p> + +<p>"I watched the lady narrowly as she spoke. There was not the +slightest doubt as to the genuineness of her emotion, and the idea +of her innocent children suffering all their lives from the branding +of their mother as an adulteress strongly appealed to my woman's +heart.</p> + +<p>"I asked them to wait while I re-read the case. I fetched my +newspaper file and ran through the evidence, and when I had finished +I was still utterly unable to see things in a hopeful light. However, +they appealed to me so pitifully that at last I consented to take up +the wife's case professionally, and after going over every point with +her carefully, and impressing her with the necessity of telling me +absolutely everything that occurred, even if it weakened rather than +strengthened her position, I sent them away with the assurance that +I would do my best, and that they should hear from me in a fortnight. +Earlier than that I could not guarantee to have made any progress +either one way or the other. I ascertained yesterday that the +co-respondent had come to Brighton, so brought Paul with me and came +here. I am convinced that my one chance of finding a weak spot in +the enemy's armour—always supposing that there is one—will +come through Count von Phalsdorf."</p> + +<p>"But, my dear Dorcas," I said, "I also have read the case +carefully over, and it seems to me that even <em>you</em> will be +unable to put a different construction upon it. You don't imagine +that there is the slightest foundation for the wife's contention, +that the whole of the husband's witnesses committed deliberate +perjury?"</p> + +<p>"No; I believe that they gave their evidence truthfully."</p> + +<p>"Then that makes your task an impossible one. The evidence taken +altogether is damning. There isn't a weak link in it. Just let me +run over it with you."</p> + +<p>"By all means," said Dorcas.</p> + +<p>"Very well. There is the evidence of the meeting at Nice."</p> + +<p>"Undisputed by the wife!" exclaimed Dorcas. "She admits that when +at the Hôtel de France, with her mother, she was introduced to the +Count von Phalsdorf by an English lady of her acquaintance. The Count +was understood to be a young man of position, and well known in +Berlin society."</p> + +<p>"And is that denied?"</p> + +<p>"It is not denied that he <em>was</em> all that was claimed for +him three years ago. He is undoubtedly a man of high birth, and he +was at one time in a very enviable position, but he had ceased to be +that when my client met him at Nice. As a matter of fact, I have +ascertained that he left Berlin over two years ago in disgrace. He +had lost large sums by gambling, and had engaged in a transaction to +replenish his purse when the discovery led to his banishment from +Court and from Berlin society. He left Berlin practically a ruined +man. Though his father is wealthy, he took his son's disgrace so much +to heart that he has refused to recognise him and does not allow him +a farthing."</p> + +<p>"Very well. We will take it that the Count is an exile, that he +has no money from his father, and that he is in bad odour generally. +That is rather an argument in favour of his behaving discreditably +than otherwise."</p> + +<p>"Quite so; I am not arguing; I am only telling you the Count's +exact position. That is the first thing I had to make sure of. Now +go on with the evidence."</p> + +<p>"Two witnesses—servants from the hotel—swear that they +frequently saw the Count in the lady's company. One declares that +late one night, after the other lady, the respondent's mother, had +retired to rest, she heard voices in the private sitting-room. Wishing +to go in to fetch a tray for one of the waiters, she knocked, and +there was sudden silence. She tried the door, found it locked, and +went away. Ten minutes afterwards she saw the Count, who occupied a +room in the same corridor, come out and go into his own room. Do you +suggest that the girl committed perjury?"</p> + +<p>"No; I believe she stated the thing exactly as she saw it."</p> + +<p>"The next witness is the lady's maid. She declares that on the +morning following the night referred to by the hotel servant she +found one of the Count's pocket-handkerchiefs, marked with his name, +in her mistress's sitting-room. She said nothing to her mistress or +to the Count, not wishing to embarrass them. She kept the +handkerchief and produced it in court."</p> + +<p>"Quite true."</p> + +<p>"Examined as to what occurred in London after her mistress's +return, the lady's maid states that the Count called frequently, but +that there was great secrecy about his visits. On several occasions +she admitted him as late as twelve o'clock at night, when the other +servants had been sent to bed. Do you believe that when she says this +she is committing perjury?"</p> + +<p>"On the contrary; I believe that she admitted the Count in this +manner frequently."</p> + +<p>"She also states that on more than one occasion she went to bed +and did not sit up to let him out."</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt it was so."</p> + +<p>"Then comes the evidence of the footman. One night, having been +out to the theatre on leave, he returned about one in the morning, +and was letting himself in at the area gate, having the key, when he +heard the front door opened quietly, and saw the Count come out. Do +you think he was committing perjury, or was mistaken?"</p> + +<p>"Neither; I believe that the man gave his evidence in a +straightforward manner and with evident reluctance."</p> + +<p>"And now the letter—the letter which was sprung upon the +Count suddenly, and I should say unexpectedly—the letter which +he was fain to admit was in his handwriting. That letter is +distinctly the letter of a successful lover to the lady of his heart. +It leaves no room for doubt. Consider the words, 'And, darling, if +the worst happens, and your husband learns our secret, remember that +I have bound myself by the most solemn vows to take you when the law +has set you free and make you my honoured wife. Have no fear, then, +darling, as to the future.' Do you believe that the Count wrote that +letter?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; if he had denied it on oath I should have believed he wrote +it. It was proved to be unmistakably in his handwriting."</p> + +<p>"There is evidence of the finding of that letter. It came into the +hands of the petitioner through the private inquiry agent who had +been shadowing the wife to procure evidence for the divorce. He +called in the lady's absence from town with the card of a first-class +firm of upholsterers at the West End, and a light cart, and said the +firm had been instructed to call for the escritoire in the bedroom to +repair it—a leg had been accidentally broken. The piece of +furniture was delivered to him, and he opened the desk and took out +the papers, acting under the instructions of the lady's husband. Do +you think that story is untrue?"</p> + +<p>"Most likely that is where the letter was found."</p> + +<p>"Dorcas admits the truthfulness of nearly all the evidence," said +Paul, who had been listening quietly. "We have talked it over +together—but she has a view."</p> + +<p>"Your view first, dear," said Dorcas, taking her husband's hand. +"There was no light at all until <em>you</em> saw a gleam."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I wasn't always blind," said Paul with a deep sigh. "I was a +man of the world as well as an artist, and I knew something of human +nature in those days. And now that I am blind and I sit and think in +the eternal darkness I see many things clearly that were dim and +vague then."</p> + +<p>"You have both arrived at the same conclusion?" I asked eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Dorcas—"that is, very nearly—we still +have one slight difference of opinion."</p> + +<p>"And you both, in spite of this damning evidence, believe that +this lady whom a jury has found guilty, and whom a judge has, by his +decision, publicly condemned, is innocent?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Dorcas in a firm voice. "In spite of all the +evidence, the bulk of which has undoubtedly been truthfully given, +in spite of the letter written by the co-respondent and found in the +wife's escritoire, we both believe that she is a pure and innocent +woman."</p> + +<p>"And you think you will be able to prove that?"</p> + +<p>Dorcas shrugged her shoulders. "That I can't say, but I am going +to try."</p> + +<p>At that moment the waiter knocked at the sitting-room door and +entered with a letter.</p> + +<p>"It was sent by the last train from town, madam—the +messenger said it was to be given to you at once."</p> + +<p>Dorcas broke it open and read it, then handed it to me. I took +the letter from her outstretched hand:</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in;">"I saw my little girl this evening by +arrangement in the presence of her governess. Some time before the +trial she was sent away to school. I sent her half-a-dozen +handkerchiefs as a present and put them in an old handkerchief sachet +I had had for many years. This evening my little one said suddenly, +'Oh, mamma, when you sent me those handkerchiefs I didn't feel in the +pocket of the sachet; but this morning I found this in it—you +must have left it there.' And she handed me in the governess's +presence a portrait of Count von Phalsdorf. On the back was written, +'To my own darling—Heinrich.' What does it mean? Let me see you +at once or I shall go mad and believe that I really am guilty."</p> + +<p>"Dorcas," I said, as I put the letter down, "you are wasting your +time. This woman is trying to impose upon you. She is simply hoping +against hope that you will find a possible explanation which she can +use in self-defence, and so pose as an injured woman unjustly +condemned."</p> + +<p>"On the contrary," said Dorcas, "this may give me the very clue +I want to make the mystery clear and save my client. I shall go to +town the first thing to-morrow and see what else I can find in that +Handkerchief Sachet."</p> + +<h3 style="text-align:center;" id="C5">V. THE HANDKERCHIEF SACHET</h3> + +<p>While I was at breakfast the following morning at the "Old Ship," +I inquired of my waiter if the lady and gentleman in No. 6 had left, +and was informed that they had gone to town by the nine o'clock +train.</p> + +<p>I asked if they were returning that evening, and the waiter said +he didn't think so, as they had taken their luggage and given up +their apartments.</p> + +<p>I was very anxious to know more of this mysterious divorce case, +and to ascertain how Dorcas fared in her investigations, and I was +therefore considerably disappointed to find that she was not expected +back again at Brighton. I had hoped that if anything was to be +ascertained in connection with the handsome co-respondent, Count von +Phalsdorf, I should have been permitted the privilege of assisting +Dorcas in her investigations.</p> + +<p>And now the venue had been presumably shifted to London, and +although possibly the Count might remain at Brighton, I was wofully +in the dark as to Dorcas's views, and had not even the chance of +doing a little amateur Sherlock Holmes business on my own account.</p> + +<p>After breakfast I strolled along the front as far as the Métropole, +and there, reclining peacefully in a basket-chair outside the hotel, +with a pipe in his mouth and a straw hat tilted over his eyes, I found +the dramatist who had introduced us to the Count at Gresham Bacon's +arch the previous evening.</p> + +<p>Being old acquaintances, we naturally dropped into conversation, +and presently I led him on to the subject that was nearest my +heart.</p> + +<p>"I can't say much about the Count," said the dramatist. "I really +don't know much of him. I had been introduced to him at the Lyric +Club, and when I found him here and people nudging each other and +saying in a whisper who he was, I thought it would be rather a lark +to play him up a bit. That is why I brought him round to the arch +last night—deuced good-looking fellow, isn't he?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; there is no denying his good looks. But what is your private +opinion of him? Apart from the present scandal hasn't he the +reputation of being a bad lot?"</p> + +<p>"My dear fellow, I should say, from what I have heard, that +Phalsdorf is about as warm as they make 'em. I know that he ran up +scores wherever he lived when he first came to London, and that +people fought shy of him at cards, and I'm told that at one time he +was trying to borrow a bit wherever he could. But I suppose he must +have come into money, or made it up with his friends in Germany, who +are rich, for he certainly isn't hard up now. Before he went to Nice +last year and got into this pickle, he had paid up several men to +whom he owed small sums, and he seemed generally to be in good +feather. I know he's all right so far as coin goes now, for he has +the best of everything and he pays as he goes."</p> + +<p>"This case will cost him something, at any rate."</p> + +<p>"Yes, but he doesn't seem to trouble. The petitioner, you know, +didn't claim damages."</p> + +<p>"Is he staying here long?"</p> + +<p>"He tells me he thinks of being here a fortnight. Says his nerves +have given way a bit over this affair, and he wants to pull himself +together."</p> + +<p>The hint that the Count intended to prolong his stay at Brighton +rather raised my hopes. I thought that there was every probability +that Dorcas would return to Brighton, especially as she had led me +to believe that she attached a good deal of importance to keeping +the Count under observation.</p> + +<p>Two days passed and there was no sign of Dorcas. I made up my mind +that I would return to town. It was hot at Brighton, and the sea and +the sun together had begun to have their usual effect upon my liver, +and to make me irritable. The work I had brought with me to do lay on +the little writing-table in my sitting-room untouched. Every day I +saw the now notorious co-respondent on the front, either walking or +driving. If I went to the theatre, he was in the stalls; if I went to +the Brighton Alhambra, he was in a private box. The handsome Prussian +haunted me, and whenever I saw him I found myself wondering how +Dorcas Dene was getting on with her case, and what possible use a +handkerchief sachet could be against the overwhelming evidence of +the guilty love of Dorcas's unfortunate client and Count Heinrich +von Phalsdorf.</p> + +<p>I had packed up my things with the assistance of the boots and an +obliging chambermaid. I had given notice at the office that I +intended to leave by the one o'clock train. I had an hour to spare, +and I went out, intending to take a stroll on the pier and get as +much fresh air as possible during the limited time now left me.</p> + +<p>Just as I got to the pier-head I noticed Count von Phalsdorf coming +along, followed by a woman selling flowers. The woman's face was +bronzed, and she wore a white sun-bonnet. The Count was walking with +another gentleman—a man I had never seen before.</p> + +<p>The flower-woman was persistent. The Count turned and told her he +did not want any flowers, but she still followed him up and begged +him to buy a button-hole. She had been out all the morning, and she +hadn't sold a flower.</p> + +<p>She was a youngish woman, and a pretty woman. The Count, I suppose, +was too gallant a man to hold out long as she pleaded so earnestly, +and so at last he put his hand in his pocket and gave her a coin.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, sir," said the young woman, "I'm not a beggar. Please take +your flower." She picked out a mounted carnation, and, putting down +her basket, drew a pin from a cushion hanging to her apron-string, +gently took hold of the lappel of the Count's coat, and fastened the +flower into his button-hole. But she was not a deft florist, for she +bungled and made quite a long job of it before the flower was +properly fixed.</p> + +<p>I had been watching the operation, for, as I have explained, the +Count had generally impressed himself upon me, and whenever I saw him +I always found myself staring hard at him. While the flower-woman +was fixing the button-hole a young man crossed from the opposite side +of the road and, holding out sixpence, asked for a flower.</p> + +<p>He had to wait till the flower-woman had finished with the Count, +and so the four people—the Count and his friend, the +flower-woman and the young man—formed a little group round the +flower basket for a minute or two.</p> + +<p>As soon as the Count's floral decoration was completed he moved +away with his friend. The young man who had come up as a voluntary +customer was politely attended to.</p> + +<p>But to my surprise I noticed that the woman and the young man were +conversing together in a low tone during the operation.</p> + +<p>The woman saw that I was watching her, and, turning her head, she +gave a glance which nearly caused me to tumble backwards over the +rail against which I was leaning.</p> + +<p>That glance was an instantaneous revelation. The flower-woman in +the sun-bonnet was Dorcas Dene!</p> + +<p>Before I had recovered from my astonishment the young man moved +away and Dorcas came over to me.</p> + +<p>"Buy a button-hole, sir?" she said. Then, without waiting for my +reply, she whispered, "I'll come to the 'Old Ship' this evening at +eight," and was gone.</p> + +<p>Needless to say I returned to the hotel at once and +unpacked—that is a process I can always accomplish without the +aid either of the chambermaid or the boots—and sent word to +the office that I had changed my mind and should not be leaving at +present.</p> + +<p>Soon after eight o'clock the waiter came up to my sitting-room and +said that a lady wished to see me, and a minute later Dorcas +Dene—not, I am glad to say, attired as a hawker of +flowers—was sitting in the easy-chair and enjoying my +confession of the turn which the sudden revelation of the +flower-woman's identity had given me that morning.</p> + +<p>"It was a good plan as it turned out," she said, "but it bothered +me a long time before I could think how to hold the Count in the +public streets long enough for one of my witnesses to identify +him."</p> + +<p>"The young man then was one of your witnesses?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Dorcas, "and an important one."</p> + +<p>"But surely it would have been easy enough for anyone to identify +the Count without all that elaborate business. He makes no mystery +of himself, and goes about continually."</p> + +<p>"Quite so," replied Dorcas, "but my witness had only seen him +once or twice before, and then he wore a beard and he didn't call +himself Count von Phalsdorf. I had to hold the Count to be +identified, because what my witness had to look for was a peculiar +scar just under the chin, a mark the Count, I expect, received in +a duel in his old student days."</p> + +<p>"I have never noticed that mark," I said.</p> + +<p>"No," said Dorcas, "it is only visible when the Count raises his +chin. That's why I wanted to put that nice spiky carnation into his +button-hole. When a man has a flower like that fixed you will notice +that he instinctively raises his chin and stretches his neck. I've +seen them frequently in the flower-shops. It was noticing that that +made me hit on the flower-woman idea last night in town. I came down +this morning with my witness by an early train, and travelled +third-class in my 'make-up,' basket and all."</p> + +<p>"And how did you get rid of it?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, that was easy enough. I went to a friend's house, and it +didn't take me five minutes."</p> + +<p>"Well, my dear Dorcas," I said, "I've no doubt you've done +something very clever, but I'm a little in the dark. You left +Brighton some days ago to upset the evidence of half a dozen +witnesses in a divorce case, with a handkerchief sachet, and here +you are in Brighton going through an elaborate performance in +order to make the co-respondent hold up his chin. I suppose the +sachet told you nothing, and you've started on entirely new lines."</p> + +<p>"That is just where you are wrong, my clever gentleman," replied +Dorcas, with a malicious little smile. "If it had not been for the +handkerchief sachet I should never have thought of playing the +little trick I did this morning."</p> + +<p>"Then, as they say in the story books, 'Let us begin at the +beginning.' You went to town to examine a handkerchief sachet, the +property of the divorced woman, which after the trial was over was +found to contain a photograph of the co-respondent, with a +compromising inscription."</p> + +<p>"Exactly. I called on my client immediately after my arrival in +town. I had wired her to have the sachet in her possession, and I +proceeded at once to inquire into its story.</p> + +<p>"She had purchased for her daughter, who was at school, six pretty +handkerchiefs. Going to her drawer one day she found the old sachet. +She thought it would be a pretty present for the girl, who had often +admired it. Taking her own handkerchiefs out she put in the six others +for the child.</p> + +<p>"While the drawer was open, the maid came in and asked her to look +at some dresses which she had laid out in the opposite room and say +which of them she—the maid—might have. The lady went into +the adjoining room. The maid stayed behind a moment to pick up some +hair-pins which had fallen on the floor, and then joined her +mistress.</p> + +<p>"When her mistress returned to the room she locked the drawer she +had been examining and did not open it until the next day, when she +took out the handkerchief sachet, put it in a cardboard box, and sent +it to her daughter.</p> + +<p>"That was about a month before the trial came on.</p> + +<p>"The photograph of the Count, which only came into the lady's +possession the day she wrote me to Brighton, was found in an inner +pocket of the sachet. This is why the child did not find it in taking +out the handkerchiefs. It was quite by chance that she discovered the +pocket, and feeling in it, drew out the photograph of Phalsdorf, +which, on her first meeting with her mother, she handed to her.</p> + +<p>"Having ascertained the facts, and accepting the lady's denial of +any previous knowledge of the photograph, I examined the sachet +carefully. The reason I attached so much importance to this discovery +I will tell you. The thing for which a lady is most likely to send +her maid to her room is a pocket-handkerchief. 'Fetch me another +handkerchief,' is what I frequently say to my own servant. Now, no +woman of my client's position carrying on an intrigue would be likely +to place a portrait of her lover in a drawer to which she would in the +ordinary course of events frequently send her maid. To place a +portrait with an incriminating inscription in a handkerchief sachet +would be absolutely to court detection.</p> + +<p>"I felt that I was in possession of at least one piece of what I +suspected to be manufactured evidence. What I wanted to arrive at, if +possible, was, 'Who put that portrait in the handkerchief-sachet?'"</p> + +<p>"But, Dorcas," I exclaimed, interrupting, "neither the sachet nor +the portrait were ever referred to at the trial. They were not part +of the evidence you have to disprove."</p> + +<p>"No; but they were <em>intended</em> to be. Remember what happened. +The lady sent the sachet to her child. That was not an anticipated +event. By an accident the manufactured evidence had been sent out of +the house. If it had not been, I have not the slightest doubt it would +have found its way into the possession of the husband's detectives, +just as the letter in the escritoire did."</p> + +<p>"And that letter—that damning letter——"</p> + +<p>"Was, I expect, placed in the escritoire by the same person who +placed the photograph in the handkerchief sachet."</p> + +<p>"And—and you found out who that was?"</p> + +<p>"I think I have."</p> + +<p>"But—you mustn't be cross with me for not quite following +your line of argument—the photograph was written on by Count +von Phalsdorf—the letter was in his handwriting."</p> + +<p>"Undoubtedly."</p> + +<p>"They were both intended for the lady. How is it they failed to +reach her hands and fell into someone else's?"</p> + +<p>"That you will see more clearly when I have told you what I have +learnt from the sachet."</p> + +<p>"Go on then—I shall be very glad to know."</p> + +<p>"I examined the sachet carefully," continued Dorcas, "and found +that, with half a dozen handkerchiefs in it, if I slipped the +photograph in in a hurry, it slipped into the pocket. I then turned +the pocket inside out and examined the lining, which was of a light +blue satin. Just at the edge of the lining was a slight black ink +smear."</p> + +<p>"From the photograph—<em>the ink was wet!</em>" I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"No, the photograph was inscribed with a violet lead +pencil—the ink smear was from the finger of the person who +thrust the photograph into the sachet in a hurry. The lining must +have rubbed the side of the finger. Directly I noticed that I asked +the lady if she remembered what her maid was doing at the time +she—the maid—asked her to step into the next room and +examine the dresses.</p> + +<p>"'She was making out a list of things I wanted put into my +trunks—I was going away for a few days with my mother.'</p> + +<p>"'What was she writing with?'</p> + +<p>"'A pen and ink.'</p> + +<p>"'Was she a good writer?'</p> + +<p>"'No,' replied the lady, 'a clumsy one—she generally inked +the side of her fingers. I remember when she came into the inner room +telling her not to touch the dresses—her fingers were inky.'"</p> + +<p>"Good gracious, Dorcas!" I exclaimed, "then if the maid was +conspiring to ruin her mistress, half the evidence that appears so +damning can be accounted for."</p> + +<p>"Of course it can. I am sure that the maid put that photograph into +the sachet, intending it to be found as evidence. The presumption is +that she also found an opportunity of slipping the Count's +compromising letter into the escritoire. It is certain that she gave +the escritoire up to the man who pretended to come for it from a +furniture firm. Now, see how easily the other evidence can be +accounted for, if we accept a plot in which the maid was concerned. +She lets the Count in late at night. She gives the orders, her +mistress having retired to her own apartments, to the servants to go +to bed. She arranges to let the Count in and let him out just as she +hears the footman clanging the area gate."</p> + +<p>"But Nice—the servant's evidence there?"</p> + +<p>"The servants never saw the lady with the Count in the locked +sitting-room. If the lady had gone to bed, what was easier than for +the maid to admit the Count, lock the door, chat with him in an +undertone, and then let him go out and cross the corridor to be seen +by the servants who were about? As to the handkerchief, well, he +would only have to put it on the sofa for her to find it."</p> + +<p>"But presuming, Dorcas, that such an infamous conspiracy as this +has been worked against the honour of an innocent woman, there must +have been another party to it—the Count himself."</p> + +<p>"That is what I said to myself directly the handkerchief sachet +had incriminated the maid. If the maid worked this, she must have +been <em>employed</em> to do so—instructed what to do by +someone cleverer than herself, and the Count must have been one of +her fellow-conspirators. He must have set himself deliberately to +make everything appear conclusive of the lady's guilt."</p> + +<p>"One can hardly believe that of a man in the Count's position."</p> + +<p>"It is difficult—and I felt that my next step must be to +find out if the Count could under any circumstances have lent himself +to such an infamy. I had already, as you know, obtained certain +information concerning him before I commenced my inquiries. Inquiring +in a neighbourhood which he was known to have frequented before he +suddenly appeared in Nice, elegantly dressed, and with money at his +command, I discovered that from the house he lodged in—it is in +Soho—he had suddenly moved. He came in one evening quite jolly, +and a few minutes afterwards he sent for the landlady and said, 'I'm +going. Send my things to Victoria Station—here's what I owe +you.' He paid and went away that instant. I inquired and found that +on the evening of his sudden desire to leave, the rooms above him had +been let to a young German, an artist. All the landlady could think +was that perhaps the Count didn't like to have fellow lodgers who +were Germans.</p> + +<p>"The artist was still living there. I interviewed him. He had heard +of Count von Phalsdorf having lived there, but he did not know him by +sight. There could be no possible reason why the Count should move +because of him.</p> + +<p>"Then I asked him if he knew of anyone, a German, who might wish +to avoid him.</p> + +<p>"'Yes,' he said, 'there is one fellow. A year or two ago I was +very hard up, and I was living in a very poor place. Below me was a +young German fellow who said he was a gentleman and certainly talked +like one. One night we were talking over our troubles, and he said +that he was desperate. He didn't know what he should do. I said I was +the same. Then he asked me if I was particular. I said I didn't know +what he meant. Then he told me that at a cheap restaurant he had been +to he had met an Italian who had offered to introduce him to a firm +of private inquiry agents—people who got up evidence in divorce +cases. They wanted young good-looking men of gentlemanly manners and +appearance.'</p> + +<p>"'What for,' I said. 'To be detectives?'</p> + +<p>"'No,' he said, 'to compromise women. The Italian told me that a +good-looking clever fellow might make a big haul at that game.'</p> + +<p>"'I felt dreadfully indignant at the bare idea, and I said to him, +"Well, I'd sooner starve than lend myself to such infamy as that, +wouldn't you?"</p> + +<p>"'He said, "Oh, I don't know—I think if the firm made it +worth my while I'd sooner do that than starve."</p> + +<p>"'I was so shocked by such a brutal speech that I called him an +insulting name, and he struck me—as a matter of fact he gave +me a sound hiding, and said if we were in Germany he'd kill me. I +was a bit afraid after that, for he was a strong fellow, and the +next day I left.</p> + +<p>"'That's the only German I know who perhaps might feel ashamed of +himself, and not want to meet me again.'</p> + +<p>"'What was this German's name?'</p> + +<p>"'Well, he called himself Carl Hansen.'</p> + +<p>"'Should you know him again if you saw him?'</p> + +<p>"If I met him I could always identify him by one thing.'</p> + +<p>"'What is that?'</p> + +<p>"'He had a curious scar under his chin. I noticed it when he +knocked me down and stood over me that night threatening to kill +me.'</p> + +<p>"That young artist was the man I brought down to Brighton to-day," +said Dorcas. "He, too, has changed his appearance by growing a beard, +and I don't think the Count recognised him, but he recognised the +Count <em>by the scar under his chin</em>."</p> + +<p>When Dorcas had finished her narrative I could scarcely speak. +That such an infamous business could be carried on in the nineteenth +century here in England seemed to me inconceivable.</p> + +<p>"Do you really think," I said, presently, "that Count von Phalsdorf +has been deliberately employed to enable the husband of the lady to +get a divorce?"</p> + +<p>"I am sure of it," said Dorcas. "The firm of inquiry agents he +employed are entirely unscrupulous. I believe that they found the +Count and bribed the lady's maid, and worked the whole thing. +Probably this handsome Adonis who left his own country in disgrace, +and was at his wits' end for money, has had a couple of thousand +pounds for his services."</p> + +<p>"But why should the husband be so eager for a divorce?"</p> + +<p>"My dear fellow—directly the decree is made absolute he +intends to marry the lady who is really the cause of his first +separation from his wife."</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>The decree was never made absolute. The information that Dorcas +had been able to gather was communicated to the Queen's Proctor, and +the lady's maid was arrested on a charge of perjury. The Count, who +had scented danger, disappeared, and was fortunately for himself +nowhere to be found when the police began to make anxious inquiries +for him. The private inquiry agent, who had been the prime mover in +the infamous conspiracy, was criminally prosecuted, and was with the +lady's maid sentenced to a long term of imprisonment.</p> + +<p>The husband protested that he had accepted the evidence tendered +as genuine, and that all he had done was to promise a large sum to +the firm in the event of their services obtaining him a divorce. +Being a man of high position, the more merciful view of his conduct +was taken. It was agreed that he had been deceived by the people to +whom he had entrusted the inquiry, which he was led to make by the +information which they assured him they already had of his wife's +unfaithfulness.</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>While everything had appeared to point to the guilt of the unhappy +lady, Dorcas Dene had triumphantly vindicated her honour, and +restored to her her good name, and the right to claim the love and +respect of her children.</p> + +<p>"And I think," said Paul, when we were talking the case over +afterwards over our pipes in the little garden at Oak Tree Road, +"that if I had ever had any compunction about my good little wife +turning private detective, the last vestige of it would have vanished +with the result of this case. No soldier on the field of battle, no +missionary in a heathen land, no gentlewoman at the bedside of the +sick ever did a nobler deed than my little wife when she saved the +honour of this poor lady from the wretches who had so vilely plotted +against her."</p> + +<h3 style="text-align:center;" id="C6">VI. A BANK HOLIDAY MYSTERY</h3> + +<p>I had been away for a holiday trip to Switzerland, and had been +staying for some time at Lucerne. I like Lucerne, because there you +can have a great deal of Swiss scenery without going through any +great exertion to enjoy it. I am quite content to take everything +that I am told about the joys of Alpine climbing in good faith, +without trying the experience for myself. I am very fond of the top +of a mountain, and if there is a railway all the way up and a decent +restaurant within easy distance of the summit, nothing delights me +more than to be a mountaineer for one day only. But I object strongly +to melodramatic adventures with guides and ropes, and crevasses and +ice axes. From Lucerne you can ascend Pilatus—by rail. From the +neighbourhood of Lucerne you can make a pleasant trip up the +Righi—by rail. And when you don't want mountains you can have +quiet trips on the Lake, and come back in the evening to a big hotel, +decent cooking, the electric light, a railway station, the English +newspapers, and civilisation.</p> + +<p>I had spent a lazy fortnight in Lucerne, and it had done me an +immense amount of good. When I returned to town I felt inclined for +a little excitement.</p> + +<p>Sitting alone in my study one beautiful September afternoon a day +or two after my return, I had a sudden inspiration. "I will go and +call on the Denes," I said to myself. Dorcas told me before I went +away that they were going to Scotland for their holiday, but they +expected to be back by the end of August.</p> + +<p>Eight o'clock that evening found me in front of the familiar +wooden door. I rang the bell, and the servant who answered it +informed me that Mrs. Dene was out, but that Mr. Dene was in the +drawing-room with Mrs. Lester.</p> + +<p>Paul, who had heard my voice in the hall, stood at the open door, +"Come in, my dear fellow," he said. "Dorcas is out, but I don't think +she'll be very long. We were to expect her at nine."</p> + +<p>Mrs. Lester was not in a particularly good humour. Soon after I +came in she picked up her work and retired to her own apartment.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter with the old lady, Paul?" I said. "She doesn't +seem very amiable to-night."</p> + +<p>"No," replied Paul, picking up Toddlekins, the bulldog, who had +put his paws upon his master's knee as a gentle hint that he wanted +to be nursed; "Mrs. Lester is cross with Dorcas."</p> + +<p>"What about?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, it's really nothing—only Dorcas isn't very well. Our +holiday in Scotland was interrupted, and Dorcas had to return to town +to take up a case that worried her a great dal, and left her quite +knocked over; and just as she was through with it and we had made up +our minds to try a little sea trip, another case came along, and +Dorcas is now engaged on it."</p> + +<p>"But why should Mrs. Lester be disagreeable about that? She, I +presume, wouldn't want to go on the sea trip with you, and business +is business."</p> + +<p>"Yes. But this case isn't business. Dorcas has taken it up to +oblige a poor woman who cannot even afford to pay expenses out of +pocket."</p> + +<p>"Ah, I see—that is why Mrs. Lester objects."</p> + +<p>"Yes; she says it is idiotic of Dorcas to ruin her health and lose +her much-needed holiday worrying about other people's affairs, when +there isn't anything to be made by it."</p> + +<p>"She has reason on her side. After all, her daughter's health is +her first consideration."</p> + +<p>"Yes; and unfortunately the old lady considers that in this +instance Dorcas is doubly foolish to work for nothing. I'll tell you +the facts, and then you'll understand my mother-in-law's attitude +better."</p> + +<p>Paul was smoking a cigarette, so I asked his permission to light +my pipe, which he granted with a pleasant smile. I can always follow +the plot of a story better when I have a pipe in my mouth.</p> + +<p>"Ten days ago," said Paul, "just as we were packing to go away, +there was a ring at the bell, and the servant came in and said that +an old lady wished to see Mrs. Dene. The 'consulting room,' as we +call it, was being 'turned out,' so the old lady was shown into the +drawing-room.</p> + +<p>"I knew by the voice and the manner in which she introduced +herself that she was not a very promising client. She began by +apologising for the liberty she had taken, and seemed so confused +and nervous that Dorcas invited her to sit down and 'collect +herself.'</p> + +<p>"'You're very kind, ma'am,' said the old lady, 'but I'm taking +a liberty, I'm sure.'</p> + +<p>"'Never mind about the liberty,' said Dorcas. 'Sit down and tell +me why you've come to see me.'</p> + +<p>"The old lady, after a good deal of gasping and a few tears, +eventually became composed enough to tell her story.</p> + +<p>"She had read in the papers about the famous lady detective, +Dorcas Dene, and what wonderful things she had done, and, being in +great distress of mind about an only daughter who had disappeared, +and being unable to get any information through the police, she had +determined to come and bring her case before Mrs. Dene.</p> + +<p>"'You want me to take it up professionally,' said my wife.</p> + +<p>"'Well, ma'am, that's where I feel that I'm taking a liberty. I'm +only a poor woman. My daughter, who was in a West End house of +business, was my right hand. It was she who kept the home, and a good +girl she was, and the best of daughters. I am a widow, and let part +of my house in lodgings, but my daughter earned good money, and now +she's left me in such a sudden and mysterious way I don't know what +to do. I know, of course, that you are paid a great deal of money for +what you do, and you deserve it—but—you +see—I—I am not in a position——'</p> + +<p>"'I understand,' said my wife. 'You can't afford to pay for my +services.'</p> + +<p>"'No, ma'am—I'm sorry to say I can't, not at once—but +for my dear girl's sake I'll sell everything I have in the world, and +if perhaps you could make the terms easy for me, and take a little at +a time—oh, dear—oh, dear—of course it's a liberty +to ask such a thing—but I'm nearly distracted with grief +and—and you must forgive me.'</p> + +<p>"The old lady broke down, and there was no doubt in my mind that +her grief was genuine. I did not <em>see</em> it, but I <em>heard</em> +it. Every tone of her voice rang true.</p> + +<p>"'Well,' said my wife, soothingly, 'tell me all about your +daughter first, and we can discuss my terms afterwards.'</p> + +<p>"Briefly this is what the old lady had to tell:</p> + +<p>"Her name was Edwards. Her daughter Miriam, who was +eight-and-twenty, was a 'tryer-on' at one of the West End drapery +houses. She was a tall, graceful, lady-like young woman, and, as the +old lady observed parenthetically, 'everything looked well on her.' +She put the mantles on for ladies to see how they looked. She came +home every evening. Some six months ago Miriam Edwards had informed +her mother that she had made the acquaintance of a gentleman—a +Mr. John Carlton—who was in a good position, so she understood, +in the City. She had met him accidentally one evening in the street +when she was being annoyed by a man who was following her. He had +interfered, and, seeing she was upset, had asked and obtained the +privilege of seeing her as far as her door. The next evening she +encountered him again. He explained that he left his office at the +same time every evening, and walked home, which accounted for their +meeting. He walked a little way with her. In that way the +acquaintance commenced and gradually ripened into affection on her +part, and presumably on Mr. Carlton's, for he made her an offer of +marriage, and begged that he might be introduced to her mother. +Miriam told her mother everything, and Mr. Carlton became a constant +visitor. He was most gentlemanly, seemed to have plenty of money, +made the girl one or two handsome presents, and the marriage was +arranged to take place in September. Mr. Carlton explained that he +would not allow his wife to remain in business—he could afford +to keep her. He took Miriam and her mother about to look for a little +house, and early in August he said he had taken one and would furnish +it and give up his present lodgings, move into it, and get everything +ready for his wife. At the end of July he asked Miriam to leave her +situation, and handed her twenty pounds in gold. 'This,' he said, +'will enable you to buy certain things, and will compensate your +mother for the loss of your salary. He did the whole thing in a very +nice and gentlemanly way, and explained that Mrs. Edwards, if she +found that the lodging-house did not pay sufficiently well, could +sell off and come to live with them.</p> + +<p>"On the August Bank Holiday Miriam left home to meet her lover. +They were going to see the house he had taken. From that hour +Mrs. Edwards had never seen her daughter again, or heard a single +word from her or from Mr. Carlton. She had gone to a magistrate and +to the police, but nothing had been discovered, and now, as her last +hope, she came to my wife.</p> + +<p>"When she had finished her narrative, which was, of course, far +more disjointed than I have given it to you," said Paul, "my wife +commenced to cross-examine her.</p> + +<p>"'Your daughter was engaged with your consent to this +Mr. Carlton. Did they write to each other?'</p> + +<p>"'No,' said the lady, 'I don't think so—you see they met +almost every evening.'</p> + +<p>"'But sometimes he might not be able to keep the appointment. +Try and think—did he never send a message by anyone?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes, I remember now,' said the old lady. 'Twice when she had +missed him there was a telegram for her the next morning.'</p> + +<p>"'The next morning,' said my wife. 'Ah, he telegraphed and spent +sixpence when he could have written for a penny. He didn't want her +to have any of his handwriting in her possession!'</p> + +<p>"'You think, then,' said the old lady, nervously, 'that +Mr. Carlton's at the bottom of my poor girl's +disappearance—that he never intended to marry her, but has +'ticed her away, the villain!'</p> + +<p>"'I don't say <em>that</em>,' said my wife. 'I really haven't any +right to form an opinion at all as yet, but the fact that he never +<em>wrote</em> during the whole of his courtship is a point I must +bear in mind. Now, another question. Did your daughter ever write +to him?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes, I think so—I'm sure so—I have seen her write +and go out and post the letter.'</p> + +<p>"'Did you see the address?'</p> + +<p>"'No.'</p> + +<p>"'Where did he tell you he lived?'</p> + +<p>"'He was in lodgings, I understood; it was a house in the +Hampstead Road, I remember.'</p> + +<p>"'Did you ever go there?'</p> + +<p>"'No ma'am, I never went out with them; I had the house to look +after, and a young man doesn't want his sweetheart's mother with +him.'</p> + +<p>"'Quite so. Did your daughter ever go to his lodgings?'</p> + +<p>"'Oh no, she wouldn't do that. I have young men lodgers; I +shouldn't like them to bring young women to their rooms.'</p> + +<p>"'Then you only think he lived in Hampstead Road +because——.'</p> + +<p>"'Well, ma'am, I remember his saying so; and I suppose that's +where my daughter wrote to him.'</p> + +<p>"'You say he was something in the City. Do you remember a business +address ever being mentioned?'</p> + +<p>"'No ma'am; my poor girl told me he was in a very good position. +He said he was on the Stock Exchange, whatever that is. He said he +was a confidential clerk to a big firm, and his salary was £500 a +year. You see, ma'am, I thought it was a good match for my girl. +He was a man of five-and-thirty—very quiet, quite the +gentleman, and he certainly had money to spend, and treated her +most handsomely.'</p> + +<p>"'I understand. But you've been to the police and told your story. +What have they done?'</p> + +<p>"'They've inquired on the Stock Exchange. There's no one known +there by the name of Mr. John Carlton.'</p> + +<p>"'He never wrote, and he gave a <em>false</em> description of +himself,' said my wife. 'I don't think there is much doubt that +Mr. John Carlton is at the bottom of your daughter's mysterious +disappearance. At any rate he must know she has disappeared; +otherwise he would have called at your house and made inquiries +concerning her.'</p> + +<p>"'I'm sure it must be that,' said the old lady; 'but why hasn't +my poor girl written to me? She was a kind and loving +daughter—she must know the state of anxiety I am in. +If—if he has deceived her—persuaded her to live with +him without being married—surely she might have found some +means to send me a line to let me know she is alive.'</p> + +<p>"'Yes,' said my wife, '<em>that</em> is the mystery I have to +unravel.'</p> + +<p>"'You will take the case up, then?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes.'</p> + +<p>"'Ah, find my poor girl for me, ma'am; let her know that I will +forgive her everything if she will only come to me and let me see +her once again. I'll pay you when I can—I'll——'</p> + +<p>"'Never mind about that,' said my wife, 'you shall pay me when you +like—or not at all. I'll take the case up.'</p> + +<p>"'God bless you for that; God bless you for that!'</p> + +<p>"My wife sat silent for a moment; then she said to the old lady, +'I'll do the best I can for you, and I hope I shall be able to solve +the mystery, and at least to let you know the truth. Now go home. +Leave me your address, and to-morrow I will come to your house. I +shall want to go over everything your daughter has left behind. I +suppose she didn't take much with her?'</p> + +<p>"'Nothing but the clothes she stood upright in. I'm sure that when +she left the house in the morning she intended to come back again +that evening.'</p> + +<p>"'Then to-morrow I'll call and see if I can find anything that may +help us in her search among her things. Good-night.'</p> + +<p>"The old lady with a profusion of thanks bade my wife good-night. +The next day my wife went to her house, and——"</p> + +<p>The door had opened noiselessly—neither I nor Paul had heard +a sound. We were both startled when a familiar voice exclaimed—</p> + +<p>"Good evening. Paul, dear, what are you telling Mr. Saxon about +your wife in her absence?"</p> + +<p>Dorcas Dene came towards me and held out her hand. Then she took +off her hat, plunged the long hat pin into it violently, and flung it +on the table, and sat down wearily in an armchair.</p> + +<p>"You are tired," I said. "Paul tells me you have not been +very well."</p> + +<p>"No, I'm played out—I'm no good."</p> + +<p>"You are no nearer, dear?" said Paul gently. "You have found out +nothing?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I've found out <em>something</em>," answered Dorcas, with a +sigh, "but it's the sort of thing that is worse than nothing."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"Because it is something I don't understand. I have found Miriam +Edwards but——"</p> + +<p>"You have found her? Then your task is accomplished."</p> + +<p>"No."</p> + +<p>Dorcas turned to me. "Paul has told you the story so far as he +knows it?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"Then you will understand what I have to add to it. After poor old +Mrs. Edwards had left on the night of her visit, I made up my mind +that this was no ordinary case of abduction. The girl had not been a +consenting party, because she would in that case have found some +means of soothing her mother's fears and preventing the publicity of +a police inquiry. It looked to me like a long-planned plot, because +Mr. Carlton had been so careful not to write, and had evidently +purposely deceived the mother as to his address.</p> + +<p>"The next day I went to the old lady's house. It was a thoroughly +respectable place, and I was more favourably impressed with the old +lady than ever. My mother, you know, differs with me over this case. +She thinks I am giving my time to the task of finding a worthless +girl who has eloped with a man her superior in station, but from the +first I was inclined to believe that the girl was the victim of some +deep-laid scheme.</p> + +<p>"At the house I went over all Miriam Edwards's possessions. I +searched every drawer, I felt in all her pockets, I read every scrap +of paper with writing on it that she had left behind, and I found +absolutely nothing. I didn't expect to find that Mr. John Carlton had +given away a photograph of himself, so I was not disappointed, but I +did hope to discover something that had been his, and that would give +me a clue, however slight, to go upon.</p> + +<p>"I was absolutely in despair, and was bidding the old lady +good-bye in the little parlour which she kept as her own +sitting-room, when I noticed an old-fashioned blotting-book.</p> + +<p>"'Is that yours?' I said.</p> + +<p>"'Yes.'</p> + +<p>"'Is that the blotting-book your daughter used when she wrote a +letter?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes, always.'</p> + +<p>"'Thank you. I'll take it with me if you'll allow me.'</p> + +<p>"I brought the old blotting-book home. It contained only two +sheets of cheap pink blotting paper, and these had evidently been +used for years, for they were faded and blackened with ink marks.</p> + +<p>"However, I got a hand glass and studied the reflected pages as +well as I possibly could. In a glass, as of course you know, the +writing which is reversed on the blotting pad is reflected in its +original form. After some half-hour's close study I was rewarded by +finding—indistinct, but still legible—the name of John +Carlton. Miriam Edwards had evidently addressed an envelope to him. +It took me some time, though, to discover the address, for that had +been crossed and recrossed with other blottings, but at last I had +succeeded in making out the number 317A. The rest was absolutely +illegible, but I remembered that the old lady had said she had heard +Hampstead Road mentioned by her daughter, and so I set out to look +for 317A, Hampstead Road.</p> + +<p>"It was not a private house, but a stationer's shop. I went in +and asked if anyone named Carlton had ever lived there. The man +behind the counter said no, but he had some recollection of such a +name—probably it was that of someone who had letters addressed +there.</p> + +<p>"'Oh, you have letters addressed here?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes; anyone can have their letters sent here. We charge a penny +for taking care of them.'</p> + +<p>"It was evident to me at once that this was the address at which +Carlton had pretended to live. As a matter of fact, it was only the +address at which he received letters.</p> + +<p>"I described Carlton as well as I could from Mrs. Edwards's +description, and the proprietor said he remembered such a person +distinctly. He was in the habit of coming for letters, but not +frequently. The letters, so far as he remembered, were always in a +female handwriting. He didn't think he could identify the writing now +if it were shown to him. He didn't take any particular notice of the +handwriting of customers' letters. Mr. Carlton had not come for any +letters for weeks.</p> + +<p>"That information and a portrait of Miriam Edwards, taken just +before she disappeared, were all that I had to go upon, and you will +confess they were not much.</p> + +<p>"The portrait was the most valuable. I had a couple of dozen +copies made by the photographer who had the negative, and I got my +assistant, the retired police-sergeant, to take me round to the +railway police at the various stations of London, and I sent one to +Brighton, Hastings, Portsmouth, and various seaside towns, to my +correspondents there. We have always in our business a good many +agents whom we use for local information, you know. I sent one to +Boulogne, and one to Calais, and I hoped that perhaps eventually I +might receive some information, however meagre, which might put me on +the direct track.</p> + +<p>"Fortune favoured me. Yesterday I received a telegram. A woman +corresponding exactly with the photograph had arrived at Dover, and +had inquired of one of the porters if he could tell her of quiet +respectable lodgings in the town. The porter had been struck by the +likeness to the photo which the railway police-officer had shown him, +and he at once recommended her to the constable's own house—the +constable's wife kept a lodging-house—and then informed the +constable what he had done. A telegram was at once sent to me. I went +down the first thing this morning with Mrs. Edwards. When we arrived +the 'lady' was out, but the constable's wife, who had been apprised +by her husband of our business, showed us into a sitting-room.</p> + +<p>"I went upstairs to the first floor, which the new lodger had +taken for a week. I examined the things in the bedroom, and had a +good professional pry into everything. In a drawer I found a watch +and a locket. I showed them to Mrs. Edwards. She recognised them at +once as having been given to Miriam by Mr. Carlton. She remembered +that she wore them the day she went away. I asked the landlady what +jewellery her lodger wore, and she said the only thing she had +noticed was a ring with two small diamonds and a sapphire in the +centre.</p> + +<p>"'It is my poor girl!' exclaimed the old lady, almost beside +herself with excitement. 'That was just the ring he gave her as an +engagement ring.'</p> + +<p>"I begged her to be calm and not to give way yet, as it was most +important we should gather as much information as possible before we +revealed ourselves.</p> + +<p>"While we were talking the landlady looked out of the window, and +exclaimed, 'She's coming up the street—she'll be here +directly.'</p> + +<p>"We went out of the room and up to the second floor.</p> + +<p>"The landlady opened the door and let her lodger in.</p> + +<p>"In a few minutes she came upstairs and told us that the lady had +taken off her hat and was sitting in her room.</p> + +<p>"Quietly we came downstairs. I tried the handle and flung the door +open, exclaiming, 'Miss Edwards, your mother has come to see you.'</p> + +<p>"The woman started to her feet with a cry of surprise. +Mrs. Edwards rushed in and cried out, 'Miriam—my darling!'</p> + +<p>"Then she started and drew back, her face white with terror.</p> + +<p>"'It is her living image,' she cried; 'but it is +<em>not my daughter!</em>'"</p> + +<h3 style="text-align:center;" id="C7">VII. A PIECE OF BROWN PAPER</h3> + +<p>When Dorcas told us that Mrs. Edwards refused to accept as her +daughter Miriam the woman who was her living image, and had in her +possession the watch, the locket, and the ring which Miriam Edwards +had worn on the day she disappeared, I could not keep back an +exclamation of astonishment.</p> + +<p>"But, my dear Dorcas," I said, "it <em>must</em> have been Miriam +Edwards. The mother must have made a mistake."</p> + +<p>"I don't know what to think," replied Dorcas. "I still believe +that it <em>was</em> Miriam Edwards, but let me tell you what +happened.</p> + +<p>"The lady, as soon as she had recovered from her first surprise +at our intrusion, exclaimed, 'What do you want here? What do you +mean by calling me Miriam, and what does this old lady mean by +calling me her daughter? Are you lunatics?'</p> + +<p>"'No,' I replied. 'If we are mistaken you must excuse us—but +you are the absolute double of a young lady of whom we are in search, +and you have in your possession jewellery which undoubtedly belonged +to her. If you are not Miriam Edwards, you must please explain how +you come to be in possession of Miriam Edwards's property.'</p> + +<p>"'What property do you mean?'</p> + +<p>"'You have a watch and a locket in your bedroom, and a ring on +your finger—that one with the diamonds and sapphire—which +were Miss Edwards's.'</p> + +<p>"'Indeed!' said the lady indignantly; 'so you have dared to search +my things in my absence; how otherwise could you have known that I +have the watch and locket I left in the drawer?' Then, turning to the +landlady who had followed us in, she exclaimed, 'I shall be glad of +an explanation. What do you mean by letting strangers have access to +my property in my absence?'</p> + +<p>"'I'm sure I beg pardon, ma'am,' said the landlady, 'but I really +believed what this lady (pointing to me) told me, that you were +Mrs. Edwards's daughter, and I—I didn't see any harm.'</p> + +<p>"'There is harm—a great deal of harm—and I shall leave +your house at once and take lodgings elsewhere. As to the property +you claim as Miss Edwards's,' she said, turning to me, 'it has been +in my possession for years—if necessary, I can prove it.'</p> + +<p>"I looked at Mrs. Edwards, who appeared very upset, and was +trembling violently.</p> + +<p>"'It isn't my daughter, ma'am,' she said; 'it isn't her +voice—and perhaps, after all, I may be mistaken about the +jewellery.'</p> + +<p>"'You are,' said the lady, 'and now perhaps you will have the +goodness to leave my rooms.'</p> + +<p>"I could not refuse. The old lady had taken away any chance I had +of making a distinct charge by hesitating about the jewellery. So I +bowed with as much dignity as I could muster, and we went out and sat +downstairs and talked the strange affair over.</p> + +<p>"'Her living image, ma'am,' said Mrs. Edwards to me, 'and I don't +wonder the photograph deceived your friends here, but it's not my +daughter. A mother must know her own child.'</p> + +<p>"'But it <em>is</em> the jewellery—you know it is. Why did +you say you weren't sure in her presence?'</p> + +<p>"'Well, ma'am, I felt frightened at what we'd done. We'd made a +mistake about her, and of course I might be mistaken about the +jewellery. There's plenty made of the same pattern, I suppose.'</p> + +<p>"I understood the old lady's nervousness. With people of her class +there is always a terror of doing anything illegal. But I was +convinced in my own mind that I had found Miriam Edwards—the +likeness and the three articles of jewellery could hardly be mere +coincidences.</p> + +<p>"We remained for some time talking downstairs, and presently the +landlady came down.</p> + +<p>"'She's gone, Mrs. Dene,' she said. 'She packed, and I went for a +cab, and glad I was to let her go.'</p> + +<p>"'You let her go without telling me! Where has she gone?'</p> + +<p>"'I don't know—I didn't wait to hear.'</p> + +<p>"'But, my good woman, I must know! I want to follow this person up. +You ought to have told me she was going so soon. I should then have +been able to ascertain where she had gone.'</p> + +<p>"The landlady shook her head. 'I didn't want any more trouble,' +she said. 'After all, she might have brought an action against me, +you know, for letting you overhaul her property. That kind of thing +gets about and might injure my letting if it got into the papers. I +don't want any paragraphs about my place, especially my husband being +a constable.'</p> + +<p>"'But you were quite right in what you did. We identified the +property as that of the missing woman of whom we are in search.'</p> + +<p>"'Well, Mrs. Dene, you see it's not a police search—it's +only private—and the old lady here said it <em>wasn't</em> +her daughter, and she <em>might</em> be mistaken about the jewellery. +That didn't leave me nor you a leg to stand on, and it gave the woman +a clear case against me if she wanted to be nasty—so I was glad +to let her go quietly.'</p> + +<p>"What could I do? I went out and succeeded in finding the flyman +who had been called. He had driven the lady to the station and she +had caught the train to London.</p> + +<p>"There was nothing more to be done. I came up to town with +Mrs. Edwards, and here I am, as far off as ever."</p> + +<p>"But," said Paul, "you said when you began your story that you had +found Miriam Edwards. Do you really believe that the mother wouldn't +know her own daughter?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know what to think," replied Dorcas. "I have an idea that +the old lady <em>refused</em> to recognise her daughter. She may have +seen something—have learnt something—from the woman's +glance or manner which caused her to deny the identity in the +presence of strangers. I can't make it out. I can't believe that the +extraordinary likeness and the three articles of jewellery were +accidental."</p> + +<p>Dorcas rose from the sofa and paced the room.</p> + +<p>"It must have been Miriam Edwards!" she cried. "It must have been! +I have been fooled! But why—why should that old lady say it was +not her daughter when it was? I'm not going to let the mystery rest +there. Good night, Mr. Saxon—I don't want to talk—I want +to think. Come and see me again in a couple of days."</p> + +<p>"Will you be able to tell me then what the explanation of the +mystery is?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps—I hope so."</p> + +<p>There was nothing more to be said after that peremptory dismissal, +so I shook hands and left.</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>I called again in a couple of days. Dorcas was out. I saw Paul, +but he could tell me nothing. For the first time in her professional +career, his wife was not confiding in him.</p> + +<p>"When I ask her," he said, "how she is getting on, she only says, +'Wait—I don't know anything myself. I have an idea, but I can't +explain it. Don't ask me to talk about it. Let me think.'"</p> + +<p>It was quite a week later that I received a little note from +Dorcas. It was short and to the point.</p> + +<p>"You can come this evening."</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>I found Dorcas alone in the drawing-room. Paul had gone out with +Mrs. Lester to a friend's house.</p> + +<p>Dorcas was pale and looked very grave.</p> + +<p>"You have unravelled the mystery of Miriam Edwards?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I know everything now. It is a strange story."</p> + +<p>"And the woman in the lodgings was the old lady's daughter?"</p> + +<p>"No—the jewellery was Miriam Edwards's jewellery, but the +woman who was her living image and was wearing it was the wife of +the man who passed himself off as Mr. John Carlton."</p> + +<p>"Good heavens! Do you mean to say that the man was married to a +woman who was the exact counterpart of the woman he was courting?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; but let me tell you the details of this peculiar case +exactly as I arrived at them.</p> + +<p>"After the extraordinary result of my visit to Dover, I decided to +act entirely by myself, and to leave Mrs. Edwards under the +impression that I had abandoned the case.</p> + +<p>"I was suspicious of her—wrongly as I now know—but I +could not get rid of the idea that the daughter had, when she found +herself in her mother's presence, managed in some way to convey a +warning to the old lady—to impress her with the idea that there +would be danger in recognition. I thought the matter out till my head +ached, but I could see no other solution of the difficulty.</p> + +<p>"I made up my mind that the first thing I had to do was to find +that Dover lady who had Miriam Edwards's face and Miriam Edwards's +jewellery again. The clue to the mystery lay there, and it was no +good searching for it anywhere else.</p> + +<p>"I went back to Dover and interviewed the constable's wife. Now +that her lodger had gone, and she felt safe from legal proceedings, +she was eager to render me all the assistance in her power. She let +me search the rooms, which were unlet. There was nothing—not +even a scrap of paper or a thread. I turned up the carpets, I opened +cupboards and doors, I searched the grates, I looked in the chimney +ornaments—everywhere where some scrap that would mean nothing +to the ordinary observer, but which yet might serve as a clue to a +trained detective, might be lying. I found nothing but an ordinary +hairpin.</p> + +<p>"Then I asked the landlady if anything had been taken from the +room since her lodger left.</p> + +<p>"'Nothing,' she said.</p> + +<p>"'Now try and think. When she came in she unpacked her boxes. Did +you notice anything? Do you remember anything that could give me the +slightest indication as to the profession or habits of the woman?'</p> + +<p>"'Nothing. She didn't unpack much—only a few things, and +those you saw in the drawers.'</p> + +<p>"There was nothing on her handkerchiefs or the linen I saw, +because I looked carefully for traces of Miriam Edwards. It was all +new and unmarked. The trunks in the room were locked.</p> + +<p>"Suddenly the landlady gave a little start.</p> + +<p>"'I do remember something now; but I'm sure that won't be of any +use to you.'</p> + +<p>"'I don't know. What was it?'</p> + +<p>"'The day she came in she undid her trunk and took out one or two +things, and among them a pair of boots. The boots were wrapped up in +brown paper. She threw the piece of paper in the grate, and going +into her room to tidy up I took it away.'</p> + +<p>"'Was there anything written on the paper?'</p> + +<p>"'It was brown paper—I don't think so. It was scrobbled up.'</p> + +<p>"'Where is the paper? Have you got it?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes, it's in the kitchen with the paper put by to light fires. It +won't be used because we never use the brown paper—it smells +so. I think I can find it.'</p> + +<p>"She went out and presently brought me two pieces of 'scrobbled up' +brown paper.</p> + +<p>"'I've only brought these pieces, because that's all that there is +there.'</p> + +<p>"I took the pieces and unfolded them carefully. On the end of one +piece was a torn gummed label—a portion of the label which +drapers stick on parcels which are sent out for delivery. The paper +had been torn through the label. All that was on it was this:</p> + +<div style="margin: 1em 0; line-height: 1;"> + <div style="margin-left: 13.2em;">SHOOL</div> + <div style="margin-left: 15.6em;">Tott</div> + <div style="margin-left: 16.2em;">Mrs.</div> + <div style="margin-left: 8.7em; margin-top: 1em;">1/7</div> + <div style="margin-left: 9.9em;">13642</div> + <div style="margin-left: 11.1em;"><em>Paid</em></div> +</div> + +<p>"There was absolutely nothing on the other piece of brown paper.</p> + +<p>"I folded the piece with the torn label carefully and put it in +my pocket.</p> + +<p>"'You can't get anything from that, surely?' said the landlady.</p> + +<p>"'I don't know,' I said. 'At any rate the lady wrapped her boots +up in it, and it may be of more service to me than you imagine.'</p> + +<p>"I returned to town, and the next morning I went to Messrs. +Shoolbred and Co. of Tottenham Court Road, and asked to see one of +the managers.</p> + +<p>"I explained my business, and showed him the torn label on the +piece of brown paper.</p> + +<p>"'That is our label,' he said. 'It would be gummed on a parcel +sent out for delivery. The 1/7 means the first of July. The 13642 is +the number of the order, and we shall find it in the Cash Sales Day +Book for the 1st of July, because the "Paid" means that the articles, +whatever they were, were bought and paid for at the time. If you will +take a seat I will have the books referred to.'</p> + +<p>"In about a quarter of an hour the manager returned with a slip of +paper. 'Here,' he said, 'is the label traced.' I took the slip of +paper and read:</p> + +<div style="margin: 1em 0; line-height: 1;"> + <div style="margin-left: 9em;">Mrs. Coombes,</div> + <div style="margin-left: 12em;">17, Hansworth Road,</div> + <div style="margin-left: 15em;">Notting Hill Gate.</div> + <div style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Sold for cash.</div> +</div> + +<p>Then followed a small list of feminine underwear, and on the +bottom of the paper '4 p.m. delivery.'</p> + +<p>"I left the magnificent establishment in the Tottenham Court Road +with a beating heart. I had found out where the brown paper had come +from in which the lady who took lodgings at Dover and had Miriam +Edwards's jewellery in her possession had wrapped up her boots.</p> + +<p>"But the date caused me to put my considering cap on. On July 1 +Miriam Edwards was at home with her mother, and certainly would not +have been having articles sent to Notting Hill Gate in the name of +Mrs. Coombes.</p> + +<p>"I went straight to the address in Hansworth Road. No. 17 was a +small, double-fronted house. In the front garden was a notice-board: +'This House to Let—Keys at the Agents'—Messrs. +Dever & Co.'</p> + +<p>"I noted the address given and went to it. I inquired what the +rental of No. 17 was, and was informed it was £100 a year.</p> + +<p>"'Might I inquire why the last tenant left it, and a few +particulars?'</p> + +<p>"The clerk informed me that the house was in good sanitary repair, +had a large garden, and it was a most eligible residence. The late +tenant had left it on account of his wife's death.</p> + +<p>"'Let me see,' I said, 'he was a Mr. Coombes, was he not?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes—Mr. John Coombes.'</p> + +<p>"Then I entered into conversation with the clerk, who seemed quite +willing to chat, and I inquired about Mr. John Coombes. He had lived +in the house for some time, and was a gentleman of independent means. +He did nothing. His wife was a very charming woman, but her fate had +been a sad one. She had been subject to epileptic fits, and had been +drowned in her bath during a seizure.</p> + +<p>"'Ah,' I said, 'that is very terrible. How long ago was this?'</p> + +<p>"'It was on the night of last Bank Holiday.'</p> + +<p>"'Was there an inquest?'</p> + +<p>"'Oh, yes, the inquest was held on the following Thursday.'</p> + +<p>"'Ah,' I said, 'I'm afraid my friends who are looking for a house +wouldn't care to take one which has been the scene of such a +tragedy—I will communicate with them and let you know.'</p> + +<p>"I left the house-agents', my brain in a whirl. What could it mean? +On the very day that Miriam Edwards disappeared Mrs. Coombes had been +drowned in her bath. The woman, who was the living image of Miriam +Edwards, and had her jewellery in her possession, had wrapped up her +boots in a piece of brown paper which had been directed to +Mrs. Coombes.</p> + +<p>"I went to the British Museum and searched the newspaper files. +I found the inquest.</p> + +<p>"The tragedy happened on Bank Holiday. Mr. John Coombes explained +in his evidence before the coroner that the two servants had had +leave, it being Bank Holiday, to be out all day. In the evening his +wife said she would have a bath. She had complained of the heat. She +went into the bath-room. She was a long time gone, and going upstairs +and not hearing any sound he opened the bath-room door, and found her +lying with her face under water. He got her out, and called to a +neighbour from a window to go for a doctor.</p> + +<p>"Dr. William Ferguson deposed that he was the regular medical +attendant. He had attended Mrs. Coombes occasionally for epileptic +fits, to which she was subject. When he arrived he found her dead. +The cause of death was drowning. He had no doubt that she had a fit +in the bath.</p> + +<p>"After further evidence the coroner expressed himself satisfied, +and the jury found a verdict of 'Accidentally drowned owing to an +epileptic seizure while in a bath,' and expressed their sympathy +with the bereaved husband.</p> + +<p>"That evening I called upon Dr. William Ferguson, obtaining an +introduction to him from an eminent physician who is a personal +friend of mine.</p> + +<p>"He readily gave me the particulars. He had known Mrs. Coombes +for some years, but had not had to visit her often. The fits from +which she suffered were not frequent—perhaps two a year. The +Coombes were a most devoted couple. He had no doubt the cause of +death was what he had suggested. Had he made a post-mortem? Yes. The +body was quite healthy, and there was nothing else to cause death. +The epileptic seizure in the bath fully accounted for the accident. +He had known several cases in the course of his professional +experience.</p> + +<p>"How long after the accident did he see the body? About an hour. +He was out at the time he was sent for. Life must have been extinct +when the body was taken out of the bath. Probably the unfortunate +lady had been under the water for ten minutes or a quarter of an +hour when her husband discovered her.</p> + +<p>"The next day I made particular inquiries in the neighbourhood. +Mr. Coombes had moved immediately after the funeral. The furniture +had been sold by auction. I found the auctioneers. They had +forwarded the proceeds to Mr. Coombes' solicitors.</p> + +<p>"I found the solicitors. They wanted to know what Mr. Coombes' +affairs had to do with me. I explained that having read the inquest +in the papers I had formed the idea that Mrs. Coombes was a relative +of mine whom I had not seen for some years. They gave me +Mr. Coombes' address. He was living in chambers in Great +Russell Street.</p> + +<p>"Then I went to Mrs. Edwards and asked her to come with me. I had +an idea that I might be able to give her some information as to her +daughter's fate. We went to Great Russell Street, and I asked to see +Mr. Coombes.</p> + +<p>"The porter told us that he was out, but was expected back at +about four o'clock. At a quarter to four we returned. Mr. Coombes +had not come in.</p> + +<p>"At about ten minutes past four a gentleman came hurrying along.</p> + +<p>"As he came near, Mrs. Edwards gave a cry, and, had I not caught +her, would have fallen to the ground.</p> + +<p>"'What is it?' I said.</p> + +<p>"'That—that man!' gasped the old lady. 'It is John Carlton.'</p> + +<p>"The man was quite near us; he was turning into Russell Chambers.</p> + +<p>"I went up to him, and said, 'Mr. John Coombes, <em>alias</em> +John Carlton, where is Miriam Edwards?'</p> + +<p>"At that moment I heard a shriek; I looked round—the old +lady had fainted. I ran to her assistance.</p> + +<p>"When I had, with the help of the hall porter, lifted her up, +Mr. John Coombes had disappeared.</p> + +<p>"I sent the old lady home and waited. Mr. Coombes did not return. +Then I went to Scotland Yard and saw one of the heads, and gave him +all the particulars in my possession.</p> + +<p>"Official information was soon obtained. Mr. John Coombes, whose +wife had died in her bath from an epileptic fit, was not quite +unconsoled for the loss of his partner. The lady was insured for +£5,000 in a life assurance office. The policy was an old one, and +dated from the time of her marriage.</p> + +<p>"The claim had not been paid, owing to certain formalities, but +it was not disputed. No idea of fraud had entered anyone's head. But +it is disputed now, and when Mr. Coombes is found he will be charged +with wilful murder."</p> + +<p>"He murdered his wife!" I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"No," said Dorcas, "he murdered Miriam Edwards."</p> + +<p>"But——"</p> + +<p>"He didn't murder his wife, because the woman we found at Dover, +who was so like Miriam, <em>was</em> his wife. There is no doubt they +were very fond of each other. All the evidence we could obtain +pointed to that fact. But he was in desperate need of money, so we +found out, and his accidental meeting one night with a girl who was +the exact counterpart of his wife in form and feature put a +diabolical idea into his head.</p> + +<p>"He laid his plans well. He courted Miriam Edwards. On the Bank +Holiday he sent his wife away quietly, probably telling her to keep +out of the way for a time, for reasons on which his safety depended. +He got Miriam Edwards to the house on the pretence that it was the +one he had taken as a future home for them to live in when they were +married. The servants were away. The poor girl was done to death in +that house in some way which defied detection. The presumption is +that she was chloroformed. That would leave her powerless, and all +trace of the crime would have vanished before the post-mortem +examination. She was rendered insensible and laid in the bath, under +the water, and the rest was easy. There would be no resistance, no +outcry, only certain death, which would look like accident.</p> + +<p>"The resemblance of Miriam Edwards to Mrs. Coombes deceived +everyone but the mother. The doctor never dreamed that the body he +was called in to see was not that of Mrs. Coombes, the patient he was +attending for epileptic fits."</p> + +<p>"But surely," I said, "all this cannot be proved? The person who +might do so is not likely to speak, for she is his wife, and the man +was presumably alone, and would not convict himself."</p> + +<p>"No; we can only assume that the thing happened as I have said. +But we are certain that Miriam Edwards is in the coffin at Highgate +which lies under the stone on which is the inscription, 'Sacred to +the Memory of Jane, the beloved Wife of John Coombes.' The grave is +to be opened by the Home Secretary's order.</p> + +<p>"That is the mystery of the disappearance of Miriam Edwards."</p> + +<p>"But the jewellery?"</p> + +<p>"Must have been taken from the body of Miriam Edwards by Coombes +and given to his wife when he met her shortly afterwards. In all +probability it was his wife's jewellery first, and he borrowed it to +give to Miriam, for the purposes of his villainous plot."</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>Later on I learned further particulars from Dorcas.</p> + +<p>When the body was exhumed by the Home Secretary's order, poor old +Mrs. Edwards recognised her daughter by certain birth-marks. There was +no doubt that Dorcas's theory was correct, and that the scoundrel had +murdered his wife's double in order to obtain his wife's insurance +money.</p> + +<p>John Coombes made good his escape. It is probable that, getting +abroad, he was there joined by his wife, who may still be in ignorance +of her husband's motive in disappearing for a time and travelling +about under a false name. Or she may have been a party to the +crime.</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>Dorcas was congratulated by the chiefs of Scotland Yard on the +marvellous skill with which she had elucidated a mystery which at one +time looked like baffling even her exceptional abilities.</p> + +<p>It would probably have been a mystery still but for the fortunate +discovery of that Piece of Brown Paper with the torn label of +Messrs. Shoolbred and Co. upon it, in which Mrs. Coombes had wrapped +up her boots.</p> + +<h3 style="text-align:center;" id="C8">VIII. PRESENTED TO THE QUEEN</h3> + +<p>I was busy writing in my study one evening about ten o'clock when +there came a loud ring at the bell.</p> + +<p>I am suspicious of loud rings after the last postal delivery. They +generally mean a long colloquy at the front door between my servant +and the bell-ringer, and as long as that colloquy lasts I am nervous +and excited. I live in a constant terror of being interrupted in my +evening's work. I set the night apart for the exercise of the +vocation by which I earn my daily bread, and any interruption is +fatal.</p> + +<p>In times gone by I occasionally yielded to urgent messages and +plausible tales, and gave the caller the five minutes demanded, but +I invariably found that I had been victimised by a bore with an axe +to grind, or a professional beggar who hoped that I should part with +a sovereign or some loose silver in order to get rid of the +interruption.</p> + +<p>Only those who have had actual experience of the dodges by which +unwelcome visitors obtain access to a busy man whose name may happen +to be before the public will understand the terror with which an +author who is working against time hears a ring at his front door +bell at ten o'clock at night. I have known men who have suffered +such systematic persecution in this direction that they have, in +sheer nervous terror, left London and buried themselves in +out-of-the-way places, and even then they have not secured the +privacy which was their heart's desire.</p> + +<p>"But that," as Rudyard Kipling has it, "is another story." On the +present occasion I had just made up my mind to walk out into the hall +and tell the intruder in strong language to go away, and never to +touch my bell again at that hour of the night, if he valued his life, +when my servant entered.</p> + +<p>"I'm very sorry, sir," she said, "but it is an old gentleman, and +he says he must see you; and he seems very upset, sir, and I thought +I'd better bring his card."</p> + +<p>I snatched the extended card with an angry exclamation and looked +at it. Then, with a sigh of resignation, I pushed my work away from +me and said, "Show the gentleman in."</p> + +<p>The name on the card was "Sir Joshua Broome," and Sir Joshua +Broome was a City magnate, a gentleman who had on more than one +occasion done me friendly service, and I could hardly drive him +from my door on the plea that I was engaged now that my servant +had admitted that I was at home.</p> + +<p>Directly Sir Joshua entered my study I saw that he was prey to +the most violent agitation. He apologised in a trembling voice for +his intrusion at that hour—he knew that my evenings were +sacred to my work—but the matter on which he had come to see +me was of the most vital importance to himself.</p> + +<p>He had heard me speak of my friend Dorcas Dene, the lady +detective. Would I give him her address?</p> + +<p>I wondered what on earth Sir Joshua Broome could want with a +private detective, but I wrote down the number in Oak Tree Road and +handed it to him.</p> + +<p>He thanked me, and rose to go. I saw at once that he was ill, and +having a great liking for the fine old fellow, I offered to +accompany him to Oak Tree Road and introduce him to Dorcas +personally.</p> + +<p>He was evidently relieved by my offer. "It would be a great +kindness to me if you would," he said, "but I mustn't take you from +your writing!"</p> + +<p>"I shan't do any more to-night," I said, and I spoke the truth. +The thread was broken, and I might as well go and see Dorcas as sit +staring at the ceiling till midnight in the vain hope of recapturing +my lost ideas.</p> + +<p>Seeing that he was really eager for me to accompany him, I put on +my hat, lit a cigar, and went out into the street with him.</p> + +<p>Sir Joshua's brougham was at the door.</p> + +<p>I gave the coachman the address, and in ten minutes we were +ringing the bell of the garden gate in Oak Tree Road. My companion +was still agitated. When we got out of the carriage he leant on my +arm for support.</p> + +<p>He had only spoken once during the journey.</p> + +<p>When I said to him, "I trust it is not serious, Sir Joshua?" he +replied, "I don't know what to think, but if you care to hear my +story stay while I tell it to Mrs. Dene—I owe you every +confidence after your goodness in bringing me to her."</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>"Now, Sir Joshua," said Dorcas, as soon as I had made the +introduction and explained that my friend was not only willing but +anxious that I should assist at the conference, "let me understand +in what way you think I can be of service to you."</p> + +<p>"I will explain as briefly as I can," replied Sir Joshua. "You +are possibly acquainted with my history, because it has lately been +in the papers, and I am, I suppose, a well-known public man. +Commencing in a very small way of business, I became in time a +leading City merchant, and I have lately received the honour of +knighthood in connection with the services I have been able to +render my political party.</p> + +<p>"At the last Drawing Room my wife, Lady Broome, was presented to +her Majesty. That is a week ago. This evening, on returning from +the City to my home at Wimbledon, I found a number of letters +awaiting me. Among them was this."</p> + +<p>He drew a letter from his pocket and handed it to Dorcas.</p> + +<p>"Read that," he said, "and you will understand why I have ventured +to intrude upon you at such an hour as this."</p> + +<p>Dorcas opened the letter and read it out aloud. It was written in +a disguised female hand:</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in;">"Sir Joshua Broome,—I see your +wife's name on the list of ladies presented to the Queen.</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in">"It will be a nice disgrace to you and +her and all your family when you see in the <em>Court Circular</em> +that the presentation of Lady Broome has been cancelled by the +Queen's command.</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in">"Well, that is what will happen if my +information gets to the Lord Chamberlain's ears. I know something +about Lady B. before you married her.</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in">"The Queen does not have people of her +sort presented at Court. Lady B., before you married her, had been in +prison, and I can prove it.</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in">"But I'll hold my tongue for a thousand +pounds. If you'll pay that for the sake of your reputation in the +City and your wife's in society, put a line in the agony column of the +<em>Daily Telegraph</em>—'To One Who Knows.—Agree terms.'—and +I'll arrange where the bank-notes are to be sent.</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in">"But don't try Scotland Yard or anything +of that sort, because if I am arrested I'll speak what I know, and it +will be in every newspaper in England.</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in">"This is genuine, and had better be +attended to quickly.—Yours, ONE WHO KNOWS."</p> + +<p>"It is an infamous attempt to blackmail!" exclaimed Sir Joshua, +as Dorcas finished the letter. "There is not a word of truth in it. +But it is a terrible thing to have said even in an anonymous letter. +I want you to take the matter up, Mrs. Dene, and try and find out +who the scoundrel is."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Dorcas, looking keenly at the knight, "I can quite +understand that you are anxious to know; but, as there is not a word +of truth in it, why not put it in the hands of the police?"</p> + +<p>"But my wife's name—the allegation is so serious—the +scandal would be so terrible!"</p> + +<p>"What scandal?" said Dorcas, quietly. "You say that the story is +an infamous fabrication—that there is absolutely no truth in +it. Neither you nor Lady Broome can be injured by attempting to bring +the author of such a letter as this to justice."</p> + +<p>"I don't see it that way. It's horrible—I wouldn't have +such a thing as this get about for worlds. The police would go to +the Lord Chamberlain with it."</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"And he would have to take some notice of it."</p> + +<p>"If there is no word of truth in it, you and your wife would have +only his sincere sympathy."</p> + +<p>"I can't do it!" exclaimed Sir Joshua, rising and pacing the room. +"I come to you to conduct the investigation for me privately. I want +to know who wrote the letter—that, it seems to me, is the +first thing to be done. Will you undertake the task of finding the +writer?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly—if you wish it—that is my business. But I +must be placed in possession of the facts. Nothing must be kept back +from me. If the allegation were true it would be comparatively easy +to trace the author of it. We should then be able to work among those +who were <em>likely</em> to know. As you say it is false, the field +is very largely extended. Anyone can trump up a charge that is +false—only those who know the facts can put forward a charge +that is true."</p> + +<p>"You must take it from me that this thing is a lie," exclaimed +the knight somewhat testily. "I will answer for my wife's good name +with my life."</p> + +<p>"Very well," said Dorcas. "Then what I have to find is either +someone who believes that you are weak enough to part with £1,000 in +order to prevent a lying communication, which you can easily disprove, +being sent to the Lord Chamberlain, or someone who has a grudge +against your wife, and thinks that this letter will cause you to be +suspicious of her.</p> + +<p>"Now you must excuse me asking you certain questions, but it is +important I should have facts to go upon.</p> + +<p>"Who was Lady Broome when you married her?—who were her +people, and how long had you known her before you made her your +wife?"</p> + +<p>Sir Joshua did not tell his story well—he was too excited +to be concise. But briefly the facts as he gave them to Dorcas Dene +were these.</p> + +<p>Some ten years previously, being a widower with two sons and a +young daughter, he engaged a governess for his little girl, who was +then fourteen.</p> + +<p>The governess came to him with excellent references. She had no +relatives, and apparently no friends, for she had no correspondence. +She was a Miss Grey. Her Christian name was Margaret. She was a very +handsome girl, and Mr. Broome—he was not Sir Joshua +then—fell in love with her. After she had been in his service +six months he proposed to her.</p> + +<p>She asked time to consider his proposal and went away. A few days +later he received a letter from her declining his offer, and saying +that under the circumstances of course she could not return to his +house. She had obtained a situation elsewhere. She presumed that he +would give her a reference to a lady.</p> + +<p>The lady eventually wrote to him, and he replied that she was +everything that she could wish—he could do no less, and he was +only speaking the truth. Miss Grey had won the regard of everyone in +the house.</p> + +<p>For two years after that he neither saw nor heard of Margaret Grey. +Then one day he accidentally met her in Kensington Gardens. She was +out of a situation and living in lodgings. He proposed to her again +and this time was accepted.</p> + +<p>Two months later the marriage took place, and he had never had +the slightest reason to regret it.</p> + +<p>His children were devoted to her and she to them, and she was +greatly admired wherever she went. There was not a more graceful or +more beautiful woman at the Drawing Room, and he had every reason to +be proud of her.</p> + +<p>"I have no doubt of it," said Dorcas, "but you must excuse me for +saying that all this is no <em>proof</em> that your wife has not at +some point in her career been in one of her Majesty's prisons. Have +you shown her this letter?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"What does she say?"</p> + +<p>"She is naturally terribly upset at such a monstrous +charge—she is quite prostrated by it."</p> + +<p>"And of course she indignantly denies it?"</p> + +<p>"Of course. Good heavens, madam! you don't suppose that I have +really married an ex-convict and presented her to the Queen! I tell +you this is a vile conspiracy to frighten me out of £1,000."</p> + +<p>"Yes, of course that is so under <em>any</em> circumstances," said +Dorcas. "Now, if you please, you must furnish me with the date of +Miss Grey's first coming to you, the names and addresses of the people +to whom she referred you, and the date of your marriage to her."</p> + +<p>"I can do that from memory. Miss Grey came to me in the spring of +'87, and left me in the autumn. We met again early in '90, and were +married in the spring of that year."</p> + +<p>"And the references?"</p> + +<p>"She came to me in answer to an advertisement I inserted in the +<em>Times</em>. She referred me to the family with whom she had been +living, an American gentleman, a Mr. Garrod and his wife, who were +returning to America with the two children to whom Miss Grey had been +governess. That was why she was leaving."</p> + +<p>"Where did you see Mrs. Garrod?"</p> + +<p>"It was Mr. Garrod I saw. He was staying at the Langham Hotel."</p> + +<p>"Where had Miss Grey been governess to the Garrods?"</p> + +<p>"They had been travelling about England. For some months previous +to Margaret leaving them she and the children had been with Mr. Garrod +on the Continent; Mrs. Garrod, who was Mr. Garrod's second wife, and +not the mother of the children, had returned to America on account of +a relative's illness."</p> + +<p>"And when Miss Grey met you again two years after she had left +your employment, did she tell you where she had been living?"</p> + +<p>"With the lady who had referred to me. She lived with her as +governess to her daughters until the lady, owing to a reverse of +fortune, was compelled to dispense with her services. But if these +particulars are absolutely necessary to enable you to trace the +writer of this letter I will obtain every information of my +wife—she can, of course, give them more accurately than +I can."</p> + +<p>"Naturally," said Dorcas, rising. "And now, Sir Joshua, if you will +allow me, I will come to Wimbledon to-morrow morning, and see Lady +Broome myself. It is quite possible she may be able to tell me +something which will give me a clue. Good night."</p> + +<p>"Good night," said Sir Joshua, rising. "I presume you will take +this matter up and go into it thoroughly. I wish no expense +spared."</p> + +<p>"You may rely upon me," said Dorcas. "If Lady Broome will assist +me I have no doubt we shall run the writer to earth in a very short +time.</p> + +<p>"But the first thing I shall do on your behalf will be to advertise +in the <em>Daily Telegraph:</em> 'One who Knows.—Will agree +terms if date and particulars sent.' We shall then at least be in +communication with the writer."</p> + +<p>Sir Joshua bowed, and Dorcas and I accompanied him to the door, +and stood watching while the lights of his carriage disappeared as +the brougham turned into the St. John's Wood Road.</p> + +<p>"What do you think of it?" I said when we had returned to the +drawing-room where Paul, who had heard the visitor depart, had +already preceded us. "Do you think poor old Sir Joshua has really +made a terrible mistake in presenting his wife?"</p> + +<p>"I'll tell you after I've seen Lady Broome," said Dorcas. "To-day +is Tuesday—come in on Thursday evening. Make it late—say +eleven o'clock. I shall probably know a good deal more about the +case by that time."</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>At eleven o'clock on Thursday evening when I arrived at Oak Tree +Road Dorcas was out, but Paul informed me she had sent a wire to say +she should be at home at midnight.</p> + +<p>It was a quarter-past twelve when she came, and she was evidently +tired with a long day's work.</p> + +<p>"Well," I said, as we gathered round the supper table—late +supper was a feature of the Dene <em>ménage</em>, and one necessitated +by the exigencies of Dorcas's profession—"what news of the +Broome case? Did you see Lady Broome?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I saw her the following morning, and found her all that her +husband had described her—handsome, graceful, and charming. +But of course I saw her at a great disadvantage. This anonymous +threat was preying on her mind."</p> + +<p>"Did she give you the particulars you wanted?"</p> + +<p>"To a certain extent, but the writer of the letter has given them +more fully.</p> + +<p>"My advertisement appeared in the <em>Daily Telegraph</em> this +morning. At twelve o'clock Sir Joshua received this telegram, handed +in at the Central Office."</p> + +<p>I took the telegram from Dorcas and read it.</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in;">"Old Bailey, November Sessions, 1886. +Six months' imprisonment. See case. Send notes—Thomson, +c/o Winter, 17, Wellborough Street, Borough, or must communicate +Chamberlain."</p> + +<p>"Good gracious!" I said, as I returned the telegram to Dorcas, +"that's definite enough, and the sender evidently doesn't fear +arrest, as he gives address."</p> + +<p>"Yes, the charge is definite enough, and I've referred to the Old +Bailey records.</p> + +<p>"Margaret Grey, governess, aged twenty-five, was sentenced to six +months' imprisonment for stealing some rings from a jeweller's tray +while examining goods.</p> + +<p>"The jeweller's suspicions being aroused by the hasty manner in +which she turned to leave the shop after saying that the articles +were too dear, he stopped her, and two valuable rings were found in +the palm of her glove. At the police-station she at first refused +to give her name, but ultimately admitted that it was Margaret Grey, +and that she was a governess.</p> + +<p>"She desired that her employer might be telegraphed for.</p> + +<p>"Her employer, a Mr. John Garrod, attended at the police-court and +said Miss Grey had been in his employ for some time and bore a most +estimable character. He felt convinced she had no dishonest +intention; at the most it was a case of kleptomania. He expressed +his willingness if she were discharged to take her back immediately +into his employ, but the magistrate committed her for trial.</p> + +<p>"At the Central Criminal Court the judge, taking everything into +consideration, sentenced Margaret Grey to six months' imprisonment."</p> + +<p>"Garrod!" I exclaimed. "Why, that was the name of the gentleman +Sir Joshua saw at the Langham Hotel—it was he who gave Miss Grey +her reference."</p> + +<p>"Exactly," replied Dorcas, "and the date—the spring of +1887—would tally with the date at which Margaret Grey would +be liberated."</p> + +<p>"But what does Lady Broome say to this?"</p> + +<p>"She can say nothing. The excitement and worry of the last two +days have had such an effect upon her that she has been taken +seriously ill. The doctor fears brain fever unless she is kept +absolutely quiet. She is at present in bed, and nothing must be +said to her on the subject."</p> + +<p>"And what does Sir Joshua propose to do?"</p> + +<p>"He is beside himself with terror and grief, and has placed +himself absolutely in my hands, to do whatever I think best."</p> + +<p>"And what have you done?"</p> + +<p>"I have been first of all to No. 17, Wellborough Street. It is a +small tobacconist's shop, kept by a man named Winter and his wife.</p> + +<p>"From what I can gather the tobacco business is a blind, and +Winter is a betting man. I suspect he is really something a good deal +less respectable than that.</p> + +<p>"The plans of the blackmailer are well laid, and I can see exactly +how it will work if the money is sent there in an envelope addressed +to Thomson.</p> + +<p>"If the police should be watching they will see plenty of people +pass in and out, and they won't be able to discover which of them is +the customer for the letter.</p> + +<p>"If they tell Winter they are police—which would be unlikely +and foolish—he will say he knows nothing of the matter; he +often has letters and parcels left there for customers, and he doesn't +know who Thomson is.</p> + +<p>"If there is any delay in asking, then he will say that the letter +came and Thomson called and took it away, and he will describe +Thomson as someone exactly opposite to the real Thomson in +appearance.</p> + +<p>"But my own idea is that neither Thomson nor Winter are afraid of +the police, and are convinced that Sir Joshua will be frightened +into paying blackmail.</p> + +<p>"This charge against his wife, under the peculiar circumstances, +is not one which a wealthy and well-known man would care to give to +the scandal-loving public, who are always ready to say, 'Ah, you may +depend there's something in it!' His wife's beauty and her diamonds +made a sensation at the Drawing Room, and Sir Joshua would hardly +care to make her the heroine of a blackmailing case, and to inform +everybody that his second wife, the beautiful Lady Broome, was his +children's governess."</p> + +<p>"Your arguments, my dear Dorcas, would be excellent supposing the +charge were untrue, but you have the strongest possible evidence that +the blackmailers have facts on their side. Margaret Grey <em>was</em> +imprisoned for theft, and the employer of Margaret Grey, who spoke +for her in court, was Mr. John Garrod, who six months later gave her +a reference to Sir Joshua Broome, and stated that he was her last +employer. What can possibly be urged against such evidence as +that?"</p> + +<p>"One thing, and one thing only," said Dorcas, as she handed +Toddlekins, the bulldog, the Spratt's biscuit which he always looked +for at supper-time.</p> + +<p>"And that is?"</p> + +<p>"This—that the governess recommended to Sir Joshua Broome by +Mr. John Garrod called herself Margaret Grey.</p> + +<p>"If she was the Margaret Grey who was tried and sentenced at the +Old Bailey, it was an exceedingly foolish thing for her to start on +a new career in the old name.</p> + +<p>"If Mr. John Garrod was willing to conceal the imprisonment from +Sir Joshua, he would certainly have been willing to consent to the +young lady assuming an alias.</p> + +<p>"<em>Why didn't she ask him to?</em>"</p> + +<h3 style="text-align:center;" id="C9">IX. THE ONE WHO KNEW</h3> + +<p>A week had gone by since Dorcas had informed me of Lady Broome's +serious illness, and the only communication I had received with +regard to the terrible charge contained in the anonymous letter was +a little note from Dorcas herself, telling me that I had better not +come until I heard from her again, as the case would probably keep +her from home for some days.</p> + +<p>On the morning of the eighth day, while I was smoking my +after-breakfast pipe and skimming the <em>Daily Telegraph</em>, there +was a sharp ring at the bell and presently my servant entered with a +telegram.</p> + +<p>The telegram was as follows:</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in;">"Meet me, Charing Cross. First-class +waiting room. Noon. You can help me. Dorcas."</p> + +<p>I was at Charing Cross Station at quarter to twelve. Punctually +on the stroke of noon, Dorcas entered the waiting-room.</p> + +<p>"I'm so glad you've come," she said. "You can help me in the +Broome case."</p> + +<p>"I shall be delighted. I have been expecting to hear something +about it from you every day."</p> + +<p>"There has been nothing really satisfactory to report," exclaimed +Dorcas, "but I think we shall get on the right track to-day. I have +been rather hindered by the illness of Lady Broome."</p> + +<p>"How is she?—not worse, I hope."</p> + +<p>"No, she is better. Her husband has been able to convince her that +he has the most absolute faith in her innocence, and he has told a +little white story which under the circumstances is pardonable. He +has assured her that the blackmailers, finding no money has been sent, +are reducing their terms, which is practically a confession that they +dare not put their threat into execution."</p> + +<p>"But what has really happened? Have they shifted their ground?"</p> + +<p>"Not an inch. This morning, Sir Joshua received a letter informing +him that 'One Who Knows' would give him only one more day's grace. +Unless the money was sent to the address given by ten o'clock this +evening the particulars of Lady Broome's trial and conviction would +be sent to the Lord Chamberlain's office without fail."</p> + +<p>"And have you discovered who the person is who 'knows,' and who is +willing to have a thousand pounds in bank-notes entrusted to this man +Winter?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I have been keeping observation on No. 17, Wellborough +Street, and my assistant, the sergeant, has been helping me. I don't +think there is the slightest doubt that the writer of the letter is +Winter's wife—or at least the woman who passes as Mrs. Winter. +She is a good-looking woman of about two or three and thirty, well +educated, and in every way I should say the man's superior. But she +is a heavy drinker. The people in the neighbourhood through whom +inquiries have been made for me say that Mrs. Winter, when sober, is +a well-mannered, lady-like person. She speaks like a woman of +education, but with a slight American accent."</p> + +<p>"That doesn't tell you much about her."</p> + +<p>"Is there nothing that strikes you as peculiar in the description +I have given?" said Dorcas quietly.</p> + +<p>"No," I replied, "except that it is peculiar that a lady-like +woman of education should be living with a man who, if your +suspicions are correct, must be a very disreputable person."</p> + +<p>"That has no bearing on the case," replied Dorcas. "What +<em>I</em> think is peculiar is that she has a slight American +accent."</p> + +<p>"Why should that be peculiar in connection with this case?"</p> + +<p>"The reason that <em>I</em> think so is this. Mr. John Garrod, +who gave evidence in favour of Margaret Grey, and at the expiration +of Margaret Grey's sentence, recommended a Margaret Grey to Sir +Joshua Broome, was an American."</p> + +<p>"Yes, of course—that is so. But there are thousands of +American women in London."</p> + +<p>"Yes—but there is still a coincidence which may be the +first finger-post on the high road to the Truth. If my suspicion that +this woman is the writer of the letter is correct—and I can't +conceive anybody else allowing a thousand pounds to be entrusted to +Winter—then we have these two facts to consider side by side. +The only person who appeared to know anything about Margaret Grey in +court was an American. The person who is now using the knowledge of +the trial of Margaret Grey for the purpose of blackmailing Margaret +Grey's husband speaks with an American accent."</p> + +<p>"But one was a man and the other is a woman."</p> + +<p>"Exactly," said Dorcas, "and so my next step must be to see if the +man <em>knows</em> the woman."</p> + +<p>"You have found Mr. Garrod?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—late last night—that is why I telegraphed to you +this morning. I cabled to New York a week ago for information. +Yesterday my correspondent cabled that a John Garrod, a well-known +citizen of New York, had left for London a month previously. Last +night I succeeded, through the kindness of the <em>New York +Herald's</em> London agency, in tracing Mr. John Garrod to the Hotel +Métropole. We are going to call on him now."</p> + +<p>"But how do you know that it is the same John Garrod?"</p> + +<p>"I gave my correspondent a full description of the gentleman I +wanted from the information Sir Joshua furnished me with. You forget, +Sir Joshua saw him at the Langham Hotel."</p> + +<p>We had been talking as we walked and I had been too interested in +the conversation to notice which way we were going. It was therefore +with something like a start that I heard Dorcas exclaim, "Here we are +at the Métropole. Now for Mr. John Garrod."</p> + +<p>"But will he see us?" I asked.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes," said Dorcas, "I think so. I made an appointment last +night with an introduction from the London correspondent of the +<em>Herald</em>, who is a friend of mine."</p> + +<p>"Does he know you are a private detective?"</p> + +<p>"No, he only knows that my name is Mrs. Dene, and that I am +calling upon him with an introduction from the <em>Herald</em>. +That is a pass-word with all good Americans."</p> + +<p>"And why have you brought me?"</p> + +<p>"Because I want a witness to our conversation. When you are +cross-examining anyone the presence of a third party is invaluable. +It is the presence of an audience that worries a witness in a +cross-examination in a court of law. If the witness and the counsel +were fighting their duel alone in a room, half the counsel's +advantage would be gone."</p> + +<p>Dorcas went to the Inquiry Office and sent up her name to +Mr. Garrod, and in a few minutes the page returned with a request +that we would follow him.</p> + +<p>We were shown into a sitting-room on the second floor, and found +Mr. John Garrod, a tall, grey-haired, military-looking American of +the best type.</p> + +<p>He received us courteously, but I thought somewhat suspiciously, +and at once asked Dorcas to what he was indebted for the pleasure of +the interview.</p> + +<p>"I will tell you in a few words, Mr. Garrod," said Dorcas, +shifting her chair a little, so that her back was to the window, +the light from which fell full on the American's face.</p> + +<p>"This gentleman, Mr. Saxon, and myself are interested in a will, +of which Mr. Saxon is one of the executors. Among those to whom +money is left is a Miss Margaret Grey, formerly a governess in your +employ."</p> + +<p>Mr. Garrod's face flushed at the mention of the name of Margaret +Grey, and then became deathly pale.</p> + +<p>"I—I certainly at one time had a person of that name in my +house," he said, after a pause. "But it is a good many years since +we parted. Why do you come to me about her?"</p> + +<p>"Because she is described in the will as residing with you."</p> + +<p>"And how did you know that I was in London?"</p> + +<p>"The <em>New York Herald</em> people, to whom I went to inquire if +you were known in America, kindly informed me that you were here. I +came to you with their introduction."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I remember—of course. Well, I am sorry that I am +unable to give you any information as to my former governess's +present whereabouts."</p> + +<p>He rose to emphasise the fact that the interview was at an end, +but Dorcas was by no means anxious to terminate it.</p> + +<p>"I am sorry," she said, "because our inquiries in other quarters +led us to believe that you <em>would</em> know something. After her +release from prison she returned to you."</p> + +<p>The American stared at Dorcas open-mouthed for a moment, and then +in a trembling voice he exclaimed, "You know that! You know that she +was convicted!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, we found that out. We got the details of the case from the +Central Criminal Court's Sessions Reports, which are published +regularly in book form. I suppose there was no doubt of the poor +girl's guilt?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Garrod hesitated. "I—I don't wish to say anything. I +did my best to procure her acquittal."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, you behaved most generously. And after her +release——"</p> + +<p>"She went away. I can tell you nothing. I have never seen her +since. It was a most painful affair to me then—it is most +painful to me to talk about now. I can give you <em>no</em> information +as to Miss Grey's present whereabouts, and must beg you to excuse +me—I have a business appointment in the City."</p> + +<p>Dorcas rose from her chair, but did not move towards the door.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, I must be frank with you, Mr. Garrod, although you +won't be frank with me. I am determined to trace Margaret Grey's +subsequent movements. I am a private detective, acting in the +interests of Sir Joshua Broome, to whom you recommended Miss Grey. +Why did you not tell us that she left you to go to Sir Joshua?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Garrod bit his lip, and his brow clouded.</p> + +<p>"Why should I?" he said, defiantly.</p> + +<p>"Because Sir Joshua Broome has a right to know how you justify +your conduct in recommending to him as a governess to his children +a woman whom you knew to be a convicted thief."</p> + +<p>"I don't know how you have found all this out, or why after all +these years you have come here to charge me with it," exclaimed the +American, "but I give you my word of honour as a gentleman that when +I recommended Miss Grey to Mr. Broome—I didn't know he was Sir +Joshua—I recommended a young lady whom I believed to be an +honest woman."</p> + +<p>"But she had just served a sentence of six months' imprisonment +for stealing rings from a jeweller's shop. Innocent or guilty, you +had no right to conceal that fact from a gentleman who came to you +for Miss Grey's character."</p> + +<p>"I had not—but I did. I was in a terrible predicament, and +I did the best I could. I am quite sure that Miss Grey has done +nothing to disgrace the strong recommendation I gave her to +Mr. Broome."</p> + +<p>"Nothing—on the contrary, her employer found her such an +amiable and estimable woman that he married her. Your former +governess is now Lady Broome."</p> + +<p>"Then, in Heaven's name, madam, why do you come to me with this +made-up story of a will? Why have you been cross-examining me as +to Miss Grey's past when you are well acquainted with it, and she +is now in an excellent position and beyond the reach of calumny?"</p> + +<p>"That is where you are mistaken, Mr. Garrod. At the present moment +Lady Broome is being blackmailed by a person who has a knowledge of +the Old Bailey conviction."</p> + +<p>"Blackmailed!"</p> + +<p>"Yes. About a fortnight ago Lady Broome was presented at a Drawing +Room. A day or two afterwards her husband received this." Dorcas +handed him the anonymous letter.</p> + +<p>Directly he glanced at it, he exclaimed: "My God!—it is too +horrible!"</p> + +<p>"What is horrible?" exclaimed Dorcas, starting forward and gazing +steadily in his face. "You have not read the letter. Is it the +handwriting you recognise?"</p> + +<p>There was no answer.</p> + +<p>"I know who wrote this letter," exclaimed Dorcas, "so probably do +you."</p> + +<p>"You know?—who is it then?" asked the American in a hoarse +voice.</p> + +<p>"A woman who calls herself Mrs. Winter—a woman who lives at +17, Wellborough Street, Borough, and speaks with an American +accent."</p> + +<p>For a moment John Garrod stood silent. He was evidently a prey +to strong emotion.</p> + +<p>"Madam," he said, "if you will leave this letter with me for six +hours I will undertake that no more shall be heard of this infamous +threat."</p> + +<p>Dorcas shook her head.</p> + +<p>"That may be," she said, "but that will not clear the matter up. +There can be no going back now. I must either prove that Lady Broome +is innocent of this foul charge, or I must repeat to Sir Joshua your +acknowledgement that you were present in court when she was +convicted and sentenced."</p> + +<p>"If you will trust me with this letter I will give you my word of +honour that I will call upon Sir Joshua Broome this evening and tell +him all I know. Will you trust me?"</p> + +<p>"No," said Dorcas. "I must keep the letter, but you may have this +telegram which contains the name and address of the sender. Here is +the telegram and here is Sir Joshua's address."</p> + +<p>She scribbled the Wimbledon address on a card and handed it to +him.</p> + +<p>"I shall be there at nine this evening," he said.</p> + +<p>"And I shall be waiting for you," replied Dorcas.</p> + +<p>Directly we were outside in Northumberland Avenue Dorcas turned +to me and said, "I have brought the American man and the woman with +the American accent together, you see."</p> + +<p>"Do you think Mr. Garrod is going to see Mrs. Winter?"</p> + +<p>"Of course he is. He recognised the handwriting. I was certain of +it the minute his eyes fell upon the letter."</p> + +<p>"Am I to come to Wimbledon to-night?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly. Sir Joshua told the beginning of the story in your +presence—there is no reason you should not hear the end of it +in his."</p> + +<p>"And you think that Lady Broome is innocent—that she was +wrongfully convicted?"</p> + +<p>"On the contrary, I don't believe she was ever convicted at all. +But to-night will clear up the mystery one way or the other. +Good-bye till then."</p> + +<p>"Are you going to Wellborough Street?"</p> + +<p>"No," said Dorcas, "what's the good? If anybody has to pay that +thousand pounds now it won't be Sir Joshua Broome, but Mr. John +Garrod."</p> + +<p>"But if it is a conspiracy, the conspirators may be warned by +Garrod's visit and escape."</p> + +<p>"If they run away," said Dorcas, "I shall know where to find +them if I want them. The sergeant is running up Sir Joshua's bill +to an enormous extent. He is going into Winter's place and putting +a sovereign on almost every horse in every race, and Winter thinks +he has found what I believe is known in the language of the +fraternity as 'a first-class mug.'"</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>At nine o'clock that evening Sir Joshua sat in the big library of +his house at Wimbledon, anxiously waiting to renew his acquaintance +with Mr. John Garrod. Dorcas, who had told the fine old fellow the +result of her day's work, was in the boudoir with Lady Broome, who +was now sufficiently recovered to be up, but much too unwell to risk +an interview with her old employer.</p> + +<p>Sir Joshua had given me a cigar, and I had made myself comfortable +in a big easy chair. We were neither of us talking. We were both too +anxious and excited to do more than think.</p> + +<p>At a few minutes past nine Mr. Garrod was announced and shown into +the library. Sir Joshua received him courteously and begged him to be +seated, and sent the servant for Mrs. Dene.</p> + +<p>"Now, sir," said Sir Joshua, when our little party was complete +"Mrs. Dene informs me that she showed you the letter containing the +infamous charge against my wife, and that you promised to bring the +matter to a satisfactory conclusion, and to put me in possession of +the facts to-night. Is that the position?"</p> + +<p>"It is, Sir Joshua," said Mr. Garrod, speaking slowly and with +evident emotion, "and I am here to fulfil my promise. I am going to +place the whole facts before you, and then leave you to decide how +you will deal with me. I shall place myself absolutely in your +hands.</p> + +<p>"In the first place, let me at once ease your mind on one point. +When I sent Miss Grey to you I gave her the character she thoroughly +deserved."</p> + +<p>"Then," said Dorcas, interrupting, "Miss Margaret Grey, who is at +present Lady Broome, could never have been a convicted thief."</p> + +<p>"She never was. This is how it happened. I came to Europe with my +two children and my second wife for a stay of two or three years. I +had lost my first wife some years previously and had married again. +My second wife was a young lady of good birth, but, at the time I met +her, was, owing to family reverses, earning her living as a female +clerk in a big New York hotel.</p> + +<p>"It was a marriage that made a good deal of talk among my friends +and acquaintances, and so I came to Europe with her, bringing my +children with me. In London I went to a scholastic agency and engaged +a governess. Miss Margaret Grey was sent to me and proved in every +way an acquisition.</p> + +<p>"Soon after I came to Europe I made a terrible discovery. One day +to my horror, while out shopping with my wife, I noticed her pick up +something from the counter and conceal it in her muff. I instantly +exclaimed out loud, 'Wait a moment—let me ask the price,' and +when the shopman came back I pointed to the article and paid for +it.</p> + +<p>"My wife was a kleptomaniac!</p> + +<p>"I spoke to her seriously when we got home. I flung myself on my +knees and begged her to think of what this would mean to me if it +were discovered. I pointed out to her that if she were arrested and +imprisoned the story would go to America, and that she would put a +lasting shame upon me and mine.</p> + +<p>"She promised me with tears in her eyes that she would not do +anything of the sort again, and I believed her. I gave her all the +money she could want. I gratified her every wish that there might be +no temptation for her to steal again.</p> + +<p>"After travelling about the Continent we came to London, and +eventually I took a furnished house at Richmond, where I lived with +my wife and children, with Miss Grey as their governess.</p> + +<p>"One day my wife went to town alone in the morning. In the evening +I received a telegram from Bow Street. I hurried there and found that +my wife had been arrested for stealing a couple of rings from a +jeweller's tray. In her terror when asked for her name and address +she had at first refused it, but presently a diabolical idea entered +her head. She gave her name as Margaret Grey, said she was a +governess, and begged that I, her employer, might be telegraphed +for."</p> + +<p>"Then it was your wife who was convicted as Margaret Grey!" +exclaimed Sir Joshua, springing up in his excitement.</p> + +<p>"Yes. Ah, you must not blame me too much for what happened +afterwards—think of the terrible position I was in. I was +called to give evidence on behalf of Margaret Grey, my governess. If +I had said, 'This woman has given a false name—she is my wife,' +my one hope of getting her off would have been lost, and the case, +which was now an ordinary one of theft, and one briefly reported in +the papers, would have been written up and headlined all over the +country, and would have been cabled to America. I clutched at a +straw, and let the deception go on. After all, I might succeed in +getting her acquitted if I contended it was kleptomania. I know I +ought to have told the truth, but think what it would have meant to +me. I still hoped that even if the worst happened to my wife I might, +when she was released, reclaim her, and take her back to America +without her shame ever being known.</p> + +<p>"My first care when I found what had happened was to send my +children abroad with Miss Grey. I knew that Miss Grey never read the +papers, and would not see the case, but at Richmond one or two people +would know her name, and she might be questioned as to the similarity. +Abroad, even if the case were fully reported—and I intended to +do my best to keep it out—Miss Grey would not be likely to hear +of it.</p> + +<p>"My wife was convicted, and sentenced at the Sessions to six +months' imprisonment. Then I joined Miss Grey and my children abroad. +When the sentence was nearly served, and the time was coming for my +unhappy wife to be liberated, I returned. I saw Mr. Broome's +advertisement in the <em>Times</em>, and answered it on behalf of +Miss Grey, who had declined to go with us to America. I told her +that my wife had gone home to see a relative who was ill. It was in +that way I accounted for her long absence.</p> + +<p>"I hoped—and my hope was justified—that very few +people would have seen the case. The report was only a few lines, +and recorded the fact that Margaret Grey, aged twenty-five, had been +convicted of theft. In only one paper did the reporter give my name +as having been called as a witness to character. Mr. Broome had +evidently not seen it, for when I mentioned that the lady's name was +Margaret Grey he made no remark.</p> + +<p>"I was obliged to give her real name. How could I have asked her +to take another? It would have aroused her suspicions at once, and +possibly all would have been discovered.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Broome was satisfied with my recommendation, and when I left +for America with my wife and children I had the satisfaction of +knowing that Miss Grey had found a comfortable home, and that she had +not suffered in any way from my unhappy wife's appropriation of her +name at the police-court.</p> + +<p>"Unfortunately, after my wife's release, she gave way to habits of +intemperance. Our life was a most unhappy one. After two years of +misery she left me with a man who was coming to England, and from +that day I heard no more of her—until—until——"</p> + +<p>"Until this morning," said Dorcas.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Mr. Garrod, with a deep sigh. "Your conjecture is +correct. I recognised the handwriting, though it was disguised. I +went to the address you gave me, and there I found the wretched woman +whom I had married, and from whom after her flight I had obtained a +divorce.</p> + +<p>"I insisted upon seeing her. I told the man Winter who I was, that +I knew the infamous conspiracy they had hatched between them, and +that unless my wife saw me I would go to the police and bring the +facts before them.</p> + +<p>"Winter yielded to my threats, and I had an interview with my +wife. I insisted on a confession, telling her that if she refused it +I would go to Scotland Yard and tell the whole story, no matter what +the consequences might be to myself.</p> + +<p>"I insisted on her telling me how she had discovered Lady +Broome—I wanted to know for your sake, Sir Joshua, and for +your wife's, if the wretched woman had any accomplice beyond the man +who passes for her husband.</p> + +<p>"Her story was a simple one, and is probably true. On the occasion +of the last Drawing Room she was in the crowd watching the carriages +drive into the gates of the Palace. Your wife was pointed out by +someone in the crowd. 'That's Lady Broome, Sir Joshua Broome's wife,' +said a bystander. My wife looked, and instantly recognised our former +governess, Margaret Grey.</p> + +<p>"She told the man Winter, and between them they hit upon the idea +of blackmailing you. They calculated that the facts they would refer +you to would be so strong that no denial on Lady Broome's part would +allay your terror, and that rather than have the matter gone into by +the Lord Chamberlain, and the scandal discussed far and near in the +Press and in Society, you would send the money.</p> + +<p>"Now that you know the truth, Sir Joshua, there is no more to be +feared from her. But I am responsible to you for my share in the +transaction, and I will make any public acknowledgement you wish."</p> + +<p>"There is no necessity," said Sir Joshua, rising. "We shall never +hear any more of the matter from these people, and if we ever hear +of it from any other quarter, we can prove at once how the mistake +has arisen."</p> + +<p>Mr. Garrod rose, and Sir Joshua put out his hand.</p> + +<p>"You have my hearty sympathy in your misfortune, sir," he said, +"and I quite understand the terrible position you were in when you +found your wife had given her name to the police as Margaret Grey."</p> + +<div class="dinkus"> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> + <span>*</span> +</div> + +<p>We spent the rest of the evening with Lady Broome, now happily +relieved from all anxiety, and when we took our departure Sir Joshua +handed Dorcas a little envelope. She put it in her pocket, and +invited me to return to Oak Tree Road and have supper with Paul.</p> + +<p>It was in Paul's presence that she opened the letter, and read +it aloud:</p> + +<p style="margin-left: .5in;">"My dear Mrs. Dene,—I and my +wife owe you more than we canever repay. But for you I should +probably have paid £1,000 to two infamous wretches and have been +a miserable man for the rest of my days. The £1,000 belongs to you. +Enclosed is a cheque for the amount, which by no means represents +our indebtedness to you for the splendid service you have rendered +us.—Believe me, dear Mrs. Dene, Yours most sincerely,</p> + +<p style="margin: 1em 0; margin-left: 12em; line-height: 1;"> + "Joshua Broome." +</p> + +<p>"A thousand pounds!" exclaimed Dorcas. "Isn't that a princely fee?"</p> + +<p>Then she put her arm round her blind husband's neck, and drew his +face lovingly to hers.</p> + +<p>"Ah, Paul, dear," she said, with a happy sigh, "now we can go away +together and have a long, long holiday."</p> + +<p style="margin-top: .5in; text-align:center">THE END</p> + +</div> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78210 ***</div> +</body> +</html>
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